To the layperson, it may seem like planes are the best way to transport goods in every sense. You can get things across the country in a matter of hours, across the world in under a day, and bring those things to just about any metropolitan area you can think of. So why, then, would companies choose to ship by sea? This could be any number of reasons: the size of the object, its weight, the cost to ship, and more. Keep reading to learn more about the four most common products shipped by sea.
Beverages
Drinks, especially carbonated beverages and hard drinks, need bulk tanker facilities for shipment. Different parts of the world supply raw materials for beverages, like barley, fruits, rice, and other ingredients. Furthermore, goods traveling across the railroads don’t only contain raw resources. Even completely finished products can travel long distances all over the world on the same ships.
Cooking Oil
Oilseed, which people use to make cooking oil, is one of the most significant shipping goods. Humans extract soybean and cottonseed oils for consumption in addition to animal feed residuals. It should be noted that the United States is a big producer of oilseeds, which it ships to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. While it’s quite common for containers to be lost at sea, this may be the most dangerous of any item on this list, as oil will never dissolve in water, and breathing it in can be deadly for marine life.
Iron and Steel
From massive iron rods for building to cutlery, cargo ships are crucial to iron and steel transportation. Iron ore, which is utilized as a raw ingredient in the majority of these products, is found in abundance at mines in Australia and Brazil. From there, it travels to all of the different regions of the world in various forms. The most prominent consumers of iron ore and its products are China, the European Union, Japan, and South Korea. This is the most common item shipped by sea, as it is quite heavy and risks damaging other objects in the hold of a plane.
Salt
It’s easy to assume that because salt generally comes in such small containers that it can’t be that laborious to ship—but it is. The common salt you use every day travels all around the world on massive cargo ships. The US is the main producer and exporter of salt, which it ships to every part of the planet.
