Container Docking Station

By using the docking station for the temporary intermediate storage of containers, the trailer is immediately available for further transport or maintenance. Trailers are too valuable to serve as parking spaces. Their TCO costs are significantly higher than those of the docking station. If the container remains stationary for longer, any potential trailer demurrage charges are also avoided.

It is also a benefit during maintenance or repairs on the trailer if it can be easily detached from the container. 

Trailer changes under a container will also become more efficient. Instead of having to drive to a terminal or use a reach stacker, the new trailer picks it up directly on-site from the docking station. 

Worked example:

Cost per container swap via terminal (red)
At a terminal 20 km away, the swap must be carried out simultaneously with two lorries – one lorry brings the container, a second is ready empty. This incurs additional costs for transport (there and back) as well as for handling. In comparison, the swap can be carried out much more efficiently on your own yard with a docking station in just 15 minutes.

Cost per container swap docking station (green)
If you carry out a chassis change directly and autonomously on your site, instead of traveling with two lorries to the terminal 20 km away, you will already achieve cost savings from the CDS at 3 swaps per month (see graphic). Furthermore, the CDS solution is significantly simpler and more flexible in operation.

Cost-relevant factors:

• Saving terminal fees
• Logistics cost reduction
• Faster response times

Strategic Advantages:

• Greater flexibility in fleet management
• Third-party supplier independence

Docking stations are excellent for container swaps, meaning you drop off one container and immediately pick up another from a nearby docking station. Usually, an empty container is swapped for a full one. This requires two docking stations.

Furthermore, docking stations enable the establishment of a company-owned hub-and-spoke system with a clear separation of long-haul transport and local distribution.

Example LNG Distribution:

A standard chassis truck transports a full LNG container from the LNG terminal to the regional hub and places it in a docking station. There, an LNG trailer with a pump installation takes over for local delivery. After delivery, the trailer returns the empty container to the docking station, where the standard truck picks it up for the return journey to the terminal.

This way, the trailer with the expensive cryogenic pump can fully concentrate on local distribution, while the standard container truck efficiently handles the long haul to the LNG-terminal. At the same time, drivers gain additional flexibility as they can drop off and pick up containers independently at times that suit them.

Worked example:

In relation to an amount to be distributed annually 5,000 tonnes of LNG and a 500 km away Terminals are without local hubs at least Five pump chassis continuously in use.

With a local hub of three Container Docking Stations the same volume can be handled significantly more efficiently: Two standard chassis take over the transport from the LNG-terminal to the hub, while after the swap on the hub two pump chassis ensure the distribution to customers in the region. This allows the expensive delivery vehicle to be used much more efficiently, leading to a significant reduction in overall operating costs – With the CDS-Hub, TCO costs are over €100,000 lower.

Cost-relevant factors:

• Reduction of required pump chassis (from 5 to 2)
• Higher utilisation of the expensive delivery vehicles
• Lower transport costs through optimised use of chassis
• Fewer empty journeys and downtimes

Strategic Advantages:

• Additional local storage capacity
• Safety aspect: no reloading/re-pumping of the product

Docking stations are ideally suited for so-called drop & swap processes, as well as for flexible interim storage of containers that are ready for transport. They enable containers to be made available or collected independently of fixed time windows, thereby decoupling transport from on-site operational processes.

If hauliers are forced to wait at a worksite because loading or unloading takes too long during operating hours, this not only incurs additional costs but also causes unnecessary hassle and stress. 

This situation can be significantly eased with (tank) containers and docking stations. The addition of parking spaces for empty and full containers decouples transportation from loading and unloading processes. Already loaded containers can be prepared in docking stations and collected by the transporter at a later, freely chosen time (exchange of full for empty). Transporters can carry out this process independently, without fixed time slots, and simultaneously with colleagues doing the same.

Worked example:

In a 24/7 production process with loading times exclusively during the day, transporters regularly experience waiting times of an average of 2.5 hours per vehicle. At an assumed cost of €90 per hour, the waiting times alone add up to €225 per lorry. By using docking stations in a 'drop and swap' operation, these waiting times can be completely avoided, as containers can be delivered and collected independently of loading times. This not only eliminates the additional costs for trucks and drivers but also ensures significantly better planning and smoother operations at the plant.

Cost-relevant factors:

• Elimination of waiting times and associated costs for lorries and drivers.

•  Decoupling of transport and charging processes for more efficient operations

•  Reduction of peak times and operational pressure in the plant

•  Improved planning and scheduling

Strategic Advantages:

• Stress-free loading thanks to pre-work
• Satisfied logistics partners
• Additional buffer capacity to absorb fluctuations
• Safety aspect: no reloading/re-pumping of the product