O Level Revision : Commerce - Transport
Transport moves/ferries/carries/transports/transfers/takes/carts people (workers, executives, buyers, sellers) and goods from one place to another.
Transport
- Transport moves/ferries/carries/transports/transfers/takes/carts people (workers, executives, buyers, sellers) and goods from one place to another.
- It opens up new markets for raw materials and finished goods;
- It brings into contact different people thus fostering friendship and understanding.
- It reduces the gap between suppliers and buyers.
Transport determinants
- Distance
- Road for short distances.
- Air, rail and sea for long distances.
- Nature of goods
- Small parcels could be sent by road or air e.g. jewellery, books, clothes.
- Large items by road, rail, sea or air.
- Bulky goods, e.g. timber, by road, rail or air.
- Value
- Valuable goods e.g. gold, could be sent by a safe and fast means like air or road.
- Require careful handling to avoid damage.
- Cost
- Consignor uses economical mode of transport.
- Urgency, fragility and safety take priority
- Bulky cargo is cheaply sent by rail or sea.
- Speed/urgency
- Fast for urgently needed products.
- Products might be perishable or light e.g. flowers and spare parts.
- Road and air are suitable as they are fast.
- Time
- Related to speed/urgency.
- Fixed departure time.
- Fixed arrival time.
- Convenience
- Adaptable to size, form, value or quality.
- Collapsible containers available.
- Adaptable to weather state.
- Suitable for all types of terrain.
Modes of transport
- Road transport
Advantages
- Door to door delivery.
- Carry goods direct from sender to receiver.
- One loading and one offloading.
- Less breakages and thefts.
- Routes and time tables are flexible: time tables changeable at short notice;
routes can be altered at short notice.
- Vehicles can take short routes and save time and money.
- Suitable for small to abnormal loads as varieties, sizes and structures of vehicles are available: small cars, tankers, refrigerated vehicles, etc.
- Can reach towns and remote rural areas.
- Cheap over short distance.
- Return loads possible.
- Low road maintenance costs.
- Driver can be conductor and loader.
- Competition among operators leads to high quality service at low price.
Disadvantages
- Slow over long distance.
- Bad weather slows its speed: rains, mist, hailstones.
- Floods block roads and bridges; heat tear and wear vehicles parts.
- Costly to carry bulk over long distance.
- Many road users cause congestion and delays.
- Accidents which are fatal and costly at times occur.
- Insurance costs are high because of many accidents.
- Causes pollution: air; noise; dust; water.
Advantages of having own fleet of vehicles
- Carry goods to their shops fast.
- Care for goods in transit.
- Operate independently from public transport sector.
- Avoid public transport strikes and sabotages.
- Deliver purchases to customers timeously.
- Contact with customers along the way.
- Enable drivers to deliver goods, collect payments and carry empties.
- Enable salespersons to travel fast and market the goods.
- Ensures carriage of workers to and from business regularly.
- Inscribe business name and logo on vehicle sides.
- Advertise the business and its goods.
- Enhance status of business.
- Generate income by leasing out the vehicles.
Disadvantages
- Vehicles are costly to buy and maintain.
- Are not always in use and drivers may not be economically employed.
- Hiring, leasing or use of professional carriers is often a better option.
- Rail transport
Advantages
- Large carrying capacity: can have ten or more coaches.
- Suitable for the carriage of bulky and heavy loads over long distances.
- Carries bulk cheaply over long distances.
- Fast: less stoppages; maintains even speed; electrified trains are fast.
- Not affected by traffic congestion: trains are shunted; traffic robots control
movement of trains.
- Fixed Timetables: guarantee departures and arrivals; assured timely delivery of goods and services.
- Containerisation: once loading and once offloading; speedy loading and offloading of goods at sidings; reduces pilferage and breakages.
- Less affected by bad weather.
- Has bedding, toilets and shops for travellers` comfort and convenience
- Access to ports.
- Social costs: tracks are away from residential zones; less air and noise pollution.
- Less accidents.
Disadvantages
- Inflexible: time tables and routes are rigid; trains are restricted to rail tracks;
trains stop at specified zones; breakdowns of trains bar traffic on the same track.
- Speed: slow over short distances; loading and offloading of bulk at sidings
delay the train
- Trans-shipment might result in delays.
- Expensive: construction of tracks needs a large capital outlay; coaches are costly to buy; maintenance of the rail system is costly.
- Inefficiency: monopolies or parastatals own the lines and may fail to run the railways; lack of competition might result in provision of shoddy services at high cost.
- Accidents: are disastrous; costly to repair and pay for the losses; great damage to goods; environment destroyed.
- Sea transport
Types of vessels a) Cargo liners
- Run on fixed routes and fixed time-tables.
- The exporter knows the times of departure and arrival of cargo liners,
- Importers know when to expect delivery of the goods.
- The cost of transport can be calculated in advance because the freight charges are published,
- Goods which need careful handing can be sent by cargo liners.
- b) Tramps
- Do not run on fixed time tables and fixed routes.
- Are hired or chartered at freight markets for specific period i.e. time charter.
- Receive information about their work by radio and through messages to the ship
crews and the crews find cargoes by themselves.
- Are suitable for the carriage of goods that do not need careful handling e.g. iron ore.
- Can deliver goods to ports not visited by cargo liners.
- c) Bulk carriers
- Carry oil, bulk and ore (OBO).
- Are large and achieve economies of scale and lower costs.
- Have quick turn-around with loads, Roll on, Roll off (RORO)
Advantages of sea transport
- Suitable for heavy and bulky goods.
- Cheap over long distances.
- Accessible to many seaports.
- No tracks or roads are constructed.
- Adaptable to carry varieties, sizes and quantities of products.
Disadvantages of sea transport
- Bad weather, e.g. tides, hinders or disrupts movement
- Pilfering and sea piracy may occur.
- Slow over short distance.
- Delays at ports due to inadequate facilities.
Requirements of a seaport
- Deep water
- Shelter from weather and sea
- A clear channel
- Wharves
- Communication via road, rail and air
- Warehouses
- Customs offices
- Office space
- Beira, Durban, Liverpool, Maputo are examples of seaports.
Seaport authorities
- Control navigation in port waters: set lighthouses and marker buoys.
- Maintain port facilities.
- Ensure ships come safely into the harbor.
- Provide and maintain deep-water wharves and control harbour traffic.
- Survey and chart tideway.
- Provide and maintain quay, cranes and yard gantry, cranes and forklifts.
- Provide fuel, fresh water, gas, free inspection services.
- Provide dry docks and wet docks for repair of ships.
- Provide fire brigade and security services to seaport area.
- Licence all seaport workers.
- Inspect sea fitness of ships brought to them.
- Maintain general warehouses and bonded warehouses.
- Maintain road and rail networks within the seaport area.
- Canal
- Is a deep trench or channel cut through the land.
- Water flows through it.
Advantages
- Canal usage is cheap.
- Provides a smooth passage for fragile goods.
- Canals are suitable for bulk cargoes.
- Air transport
Advantages
- Fast over short and long distances.
- Speedy delivery of perishables and urgently needed cargo.
- Reduces production delay.
- Safe as goods are exposed to risk for a short time.
- Less pilferage since goods are rarely handled.
- Less danger of damage of goods.
- Suitable for valuable and light goods.
- Insurance costs are low - fast delivery reduces exposure to risks.
- Less documentation – only an airway bill is required.
- Fewer accidents.
- Less air and noise pollution.
- Large planes have been designed to carry bulky goods and many passengers.
Disadvantages
- High costs of equipment and running costs make it expensive.
- May carry limited size and weight of goods.
- Easily affected by bad weather.
- Disastrous accidents.
- Rigid timetables.
- Rigid landing areas -needs large special landing area.
Airport authorities
- Approve air transport licences and permits.
- Conduct bilateral airport negotiations e.g. landing rights.
- Provide legal advice on international air rules.
- Keep statistical records and their analysis.
- Provide air traffic control for safe, secure and orderly flow of traffic.
- Set up radar stations, aerodromes and entry and exit systems.
- Provide search and rescue services.
- Make radio navigation aids available to aircraft.
- Provide mobile and fixed contacts between aircraft and ground units.
- Provide fire brigade, security service, flight times and warehouses.
Importance of increased air cargo
- Volume of trade among nations has increased.
- More routes are now available.
- Costs of air freight are falling.
- Urgently needed goods are delivered fast.
- Less theft and damage to goods.
- Increased safety and security.
- Low insurance costs.
- Pipelines
- Pipelines are used to carry liquids and gases over short and long distances.
- The Beira-Mutare pipeline carries oil.
Advantages
- A safe form of transport, with little risk of theft.
- Cheap to run, with low costs of maintenance.
- Fluids flow fast.
- Carry alternative fluids.
- Carry large volumes of fluid.
Disadvantages
- Expensive to construct.
- Carry fluids only.
- Fluids might freeze.
- Damage disrupts smooth flow of fluids.
- Costly to spot the leakage.
- Flow stops during repairs.
- Repairs are costly.
Containerisation
- Goods packed in big, standard sized boxes or containers at departure point.
- Goods unpacked at destination.
- Cranes used to load and unload the containers.
Advantages
- Reduces the handling of goods in transit.
- Saves human power at departure and destination points.
- Quick to load and unload the goods.
- Mechanisation reduces costs of distribution of goods.
- Reduces pilferage.
- Reduces damage of goods.
- Insurance costs are low.
Multiple choice questions
- What determines the mode of transport for the carriage of goods? (i) Distance
(ii) Speed
(iii) Cost
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A. (i) and (ii) |
B. |
(i) and (iii) |
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C. (ii) and (iii) |
D. |
(i), (ii) and (iii) |
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2. |
Inland goods are not carried by |
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A. canal. |
B. |
road. |
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C. rail. |
D. |
sea. |
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3. |
Road carriage |
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- has rigid time tables.
- is accessible to remotest areas.
- is fast and cheap over long distances.
- is cheap for bulky goods over long distances.
- Fresh farm produce is best sent overseas by a combination of
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A. road and air. |
B. |
road and sea. |
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C. sea and air. |
D. |
canal and air. |
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5. |
Containerisation |
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A. ensures goods’ safety. |
B. |
reduces uses of cranes. |
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C. leads to high operational costs. |
D. |
increases the use of manual labour. |
Essay questions
- Why has the carriage of goods by road increased?
- Explain the functions of seaport authorities.
- Explain the mode to carry:
(i) timber from Beira to Maputo. (ii) gold from Harare to London. (iii) coal from Hwange to Mutare.
(iv) factory machine spare parts from Japan to Zimbabwe. (v) bread from a bakery to nearby residential shop.
- Why has the carriage of goods by air risen?
- a) What is containerisation?
- b) Explain the advantages of containerisation.
