Every day, millions of tons of various goods are transported around the world. From the Far East to the furthest corners of Africa, through Europe, America, and other continents, food, electronics, home appliances, clothing, and other products are shipped quickly and effectively using all possible means of transport. Sometimes, goods of enormous, non-standard sizes or weights require transportation. Bridge spans, gigantic transmission tower structures, electrical transformers, and components of industrial machinery and structures—so-called oversized cargo—pose a real challenge.
Specialized vehicles must be used in the process of oversized transport. However, the transport of oversized goods itself is the final element of a long chain of specialized logistics operations. Moving oversized cargo requires the logistics operator to have precise preparations, appropriate equipment, and experience in executing complex logistics processes. In the case of Schenker, the Oversized Transport Department specializes in the transport of such goods under the SCHENKERoversized product. It handles the entire process of managing oversized shipments, including activities related to the transport itself, organizing loading and unloading, obtaining special permits, and providing escort services both domestically and internationally.
Definition of oversized transport
Oversized transport is also referred to as non-normative transport. This is because the goods exceed the legally permitted norms for road travel in terms of size and weight. For simplification and to help visualize the boundary between standard and oversized transport, it can be assumed that oversized transports are generally those exceeding:
• a total length of 16.50 m
• a width of 2.50 m
• a height of 4.00 m
• and most commonly 42 tons of total weight
Logistics of oversized transport
Before oversized cargo is loaded onto a special vehicle and reaches the recipient, Schenker experts meticulously develop the optimal route. The route planning process considers road widths, signs and poles along the roads, the height and width of passages under viaducts and bridges, roundabouts, permitted vehicle axle loads, etc.
Due to applicable regulations, the route is developed in cooperation with the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA). This is where essential information about potential road difficulties can be obtained, planning a route that is as passable and free of any road obstacles as possible.
– If the transport parameter exceedances are significant, and according to GDDKiA information, passage is not possible due to many obstacles on the roads, then we look for an optimal route ourselves that will ensure free passage. In such a situation, we send a pilot to scout the route. Sometimes we also accompany the pilot personally on such a trip. We then prepare a route survey report including road numbers and town names, as well as all possible road obstacles that will need to be removed for the duration of the transport. After our proposed route is accepted by the GDDKiA, a special permit is issued. – says Robert Alot, Head of the Oversized Transport Department at Schenker Sp. z o.o.
Difficulties in oversized transport
Due to the specific nature of oversized transport, it is natural that its execution entails many problems. In Poland, the very poor condition of roads comes to the fore. Repairs are carried out slowly and, unfortunately, often unprofessionally. As a result, oversized transports must travel a much longer route, bypassing sections under repair. There is also often a need to remove road obstacles such as road signs. Another problem is roundabouts built within the national road system, as well as pedestrian refuges or traffic islands on the potential route, with permanently installed road signs. As a result of the encountered difficulties, the final recipient pays more for transport, and the duration of the transport operation is extended.
Another difficulty for oversized transport in Poland is the system for calculating fees for special permits. Usually, in European Union countries, fees range from a few dozen to about 200 EUR and are independent of the route length and the total parameters of the transport set including the load. Despite our presence in the EU, in Poland, the longer the route and the greater the exceedance of permissible dimensions, tonnage, and axle loads, the higher the fees, often reaching several thousand zlotys. When transporting heavier loads over longer routes, the fee can even amount to over ten thousand zlotys.