Clarification goods vs. cargo
It is usually assumed that"type of cargo" is a product classification, but it is not.
The basic source is the UNECE Recommendation 21 on Codes for Types of Cargo, Packages and Packaging Materials Annex II, reproduced herein the table below.
Table 1 UNECE Type of Cargo Broad Categories
Code / Title / Description0 / NO CARGO UNIT (LIQUID BULK GOODS) / Includes i) liquids ii) liquified gases iii) molten or slurried solids, suitable for continuous mechanical handling for transport by pipeline or loose in a hold, tank or other compartment integral to a means of transport.
1 / NO CARGO UNIT (SOLID BULK GOODS) / Includes i) fine powders ii) granular particles iii) large, lumpy, dry solids, suitable for continuous mechanical handling, for transport by fixed installations (other than pipeline) or loose in a hold or other compartment integral to a means of transport.
2 / LARGE FREIGHT CONTAINERS / Goods loaded in/on a freight container 20ft. (6m) ormore in external length; includes lift van, swap/swop body, flat, moveable tank or similar
articles of transport equipment.
3 / OTHER FREIGHT CONTAINERS / Goods loaded in/on a freight container less than 20 ft. (6m) in external length; includes i) rigid Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) ii) aircraft Unit Load Devices (ULDs); excludes i) air mode pallets ii) sea or land mode box-, tank-, post, rack-pallets not exceeding 1.25 m2 deck area.
4 / PALLETIZED / Goods loaded on a deck; includes i) disposable one-way pallets ii) sea or land mode box-, tank-, post-, rack-pallets not exceeding 1.25 m2 deck area iii) slip-sheets iv) air mode pallets v) bricks, ingots, etc. suitably assembled for fork-lift truck handling.
5 / PRE-SLUNG / Goods (one or more items) supplied with a sling (or slings) or various materials (natural/artificial fibre, steel wire, etc.) and of various designs (loop, ring, cloverleaf, etc.); includes
i) “packaged” timber ii) Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers(FIBCs).
6 / MOBILE SELF-PROPELLED UNITS / Includes i) road motor vehicles (lorries, buses, cars) and accompanying trailers, semi-trailers, caravans engaged in goods/passenger transport ii) motorised road, agricultural, industrial, etc. vehicles moving in trade iii) live animals “on the hoof” iv) passengers on foot.
7 / OTHER MOBILE UNITS / Non-self-propelled vehicles and equipment on wheels; includes
i) unaccompanied trailers, semi-trailers railwagons, ship-borne barges engaged in goods transport ii) caravans and other road, agricultural, industrial, etc. vehicles iii) ship-borne port-to-port trailers.
8 / RESERVED
9 / OTHER CARGO TYPES / All cargo not elsewhere enumerated (i.e. the residual types of cargo carried in transport: “break-bulk” or “general” cargo, e.g. boxes, drums, bags, etc. and loose, unpacked items such as pipes, rods, etc.).
What is interesting about the table is that there is very little about products as such. The best example is liquid bulk where crude oil, the most significant liquid bulk product for maritime transport, is not mentioned. In the other categories, there is minor discussion of some products, e.g. animals on the hoof but not in any great detail.
What is important is how the products are being transported, not what products are being transported.
When the UNECE classification is translated into a workable categorisation for use in maritime statistics, the situation changes to include more information about individual products. The maritime classification is shown in Table2. Here, very important products carried in maritime transport are individually identified with crude oil, ores and iron and steel products as examples. However, this does not mean that all movements of coal for example would necessarily be included in 2 digit code 22. Some high valued coal products have been known to be transported in containers and they would then be included in the appropriate heading in the Containers section. The message here is that though individual products do appear in the classification, there is not a one to one link with a product classification. The "type of cargo"concept is important and different from "type of product".
Table 2 Type of Cargo Classification
Code 1 digit / Code 2 digits / Description / Tonnage / NumberLiquid bulk / 1 / 1X / Liquid bulk goods (no cargo unit) / X
11 / Liquefied gas / X
12 / Crude oil / X
13 / Oil products / X
19 / Other liquid bulk goods / X
Dry bulk / 2 / 2X / Dry bulk goods (no cargo unit) / X
21 / Ores / X
22 / Coal / X
23 / Agricultural products (e.g. grain, soya, tapioca) / X
29 / Other dry bulk goods / X
Containers / 3 / 3X / Large containers / X ( 2 ) / X
31 / 20 ft freight units / X ( 2 ) / X
32 / 40 ft freight units / X ( 2 ) / X
33 / Freight units > 20 ft and < 40 ft / X ( 2 ) / X
34 / Freight units > 40 ft / X ( 2 ) / X
Roll-on roll-off (self-propelled) / 5 / 5X / Mobile self-propelled units / X / X
51 / Road goods vehicles and accompanying trailers / X ( 2 ) / X
52 / Passenger cars, motorcycles and accompanying trailers/ caravans / X ( 3 )
53 / Passenger buses / X ( 3 )
54 / Trade vehicles (including import/export motor vehicles) / X / X ( 3 )
56 / Live animals on the hoof / X / X ( 3 )
59 / Other mobile self-propelled units / X / X
Roll-on roll-off (non-self-propelled) / 6 / 6X / Mobile non-self-propelled units / X / X
61 / Unaccompanied road goods trailers and semi-trailers / X ( 2 ) / X
62 / Unaccompanied caravans and other road, agricultural and industrial vehicles / X / X ( 3 )
63 / Rail wagons, shipborne port-to-port trailers, and shipborne barges engaged in goods transport / X ( 2 ) / X
69 / Other mobile non-self-propelled units / X / X
Other general cargo (including small containers) / 9 / 9X / Other cargo, not elsewhere specified / X
91 / Forestry products / X
92 / Iron and steel products / X
99 / Other general cargo / X
( 1 ) These categories are consistent with United Nations ECE Recommendation No 21.
( 2 ) The quantity recorded is the gross weight of the goods including packaging but excluding the tare weight of containers and ro-ro units.
( 3 ) Only total number of units.
Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of "Other cargo - Forestry products"
What products are Forestry products?
These are forest products like sawn timber or paper which are transported in break bulk configuration. This means that they need to be unloaded into storage at or close to the dock and then broken down into smaller quantities for later delivery.
What products are "Liquid bulk - Liquified gas", "Liquid bulk - Crude oil" and so on?
Crude oil seems fairly obvious at the broad aggregate level intended. There is no attempt here to differentiate between different qualities of crude oil, merely to identify the fact that they are transported in very specialised crude oil carriers and normally handled in crude oil terminals. The same reasoning applies to liquified gas where the specialised liquified gas carriers and associated port facilities are the important issues, not the fine detail of the product type.
Is there any relation to Standard Goods Classification for Transport Statistics?
As stated above, there is obviously some relation the Standard Goods Classification for Transport Statistics but it is not one to one from the goods classification to the type of cargo classification.
What goods are included in the following maritime transport goods categories:"Dry bulk - Agricultural products" and "Dry bulk – Other"?
In responding to this query, it is useful to go back to the UNECE Type of Cargo classification on which the classification in the Directive is based. Table 1 shows an extract from the UNECE classification for No cargo unit (solid bulk goods) or dry bulk in the Directive terms. As you can see, there is no mention in this description of any product category at all. What this classification is attempting to do is divide cargo out into specific groups requiring specific vessel types and port handling equipment. However, in the real world, the vessel type and the port handling facilities do reflect the properties of individual products. A good example is crude petroleum, an important product in maritime transport, which makes use of very specific vessel types and associated specialised port facilities. In the case of dry bulk, the same is true of agricultural products but here it is more difficult to tie this down to an individual or group of individual products as is the case with crude petroleum. Even so, the main elements will be grains, such as wheat, maize etc., soya and tapioca. It is not possible to give a fully definitive list of what could be involved. This is even less possible for “dry bulk other”. These will be products not included in the broad product categories mentioned in the rest of the list.
Finally, what is important here is to realise that type of cargo is not a product classification and there is no one to one relationship between products and the type of cargo elements. For example, grain could be carried in a road motor vehicle on board a Ro-Ro ferry. In this case, it would be counted in the type of cargo classification as Ro-Ro cargo and not dry bulk.