the shipping infodump thread, requested by @djmicrobeads and @__justplaying
this is an infodump. not a piecemeal essay with a thesis. [1

In shipping logistics, there are 3 main types: inbound, outbound, and reverse. The term "logistics" comes from the military. [2A

Inbound is moving raw materials to make products, and then moving the final products around before they are sold. Perhaps, the products move from factories to warehouses.
Outbound is moving finished products to customers (stores or individuals). [2B

Reverse is processing customer returns. These products will be returned to warehouses, either for restocking or destruction. [2C

There is also domestic versus international. [3

When international freight arrives, it must go through customs at its port of entry (airport, seaport, border land port), where it will sometimes sit for a long time. Bonded freight allows it to move inland and then be processed later. [4

Bonded freight may never be released into the country! It might just transit through the country en route to another country, just like people might have connecting flights en route to their destination. [5A

Or, bonded freight might just hang out, guarded, in a bonded warehouse for a while. [5B

Why might you want to use bonded freight? Let's say you are a French company that sells swimsuits. You manufacture your swimsuits in Vietnam, and then you want to sell them in the USA. You try some new avant garde design that you're 90% certain will sell well. [6A

For small, easy numbers, let's say that you produce 10.000 swimsuits, and you pay the customs duties on 100 suits, and ship them to a store to sell. You keep the other 9.900 in a bonded warehouse, not paying the customs duties. [6B

Oh no. Pandemic hits, and only 10 of your 100 swimsuits sold. [6C

You decide to recall the other 9.900 swimsuits out of the USA, knowing that they won't be sold, and you don't pay the customs duties on them. Now, you're only out customs duties on 90 swimsuits instead of 9.990 swimsuits. [6D

In a warehouse, the water spider role has a route where they go around making sure that everyone else can do their jobs efficiently. [7A

If Warehouse Employee A's job is to tape boxes and Warehouse Employee B's job is to wrap boxes, the water spider keeps A stocked with tape and B with plastic, and they might also carry away the empty tape and plastic rolls. [7B

Commercial airlines ship cargo. Those low-fee carriers make their money on cargo. Rarely, but it happens, a passenger will get bumped for cargo because cargo makes more money. [8

Lorries are at the beginning, middle, and end of intermodal transportation. Stuff goes from the factory to Rail Yard A by lorry. Then it goes by train. Then it goes from Rail Yard B to Seaport A by lorry. Then it gets on a ship. [9A

Then it goes from Seaport B to Rail Yard C by lorry. Then it goes from Rail Yard D to its buyer by lorry. Don't forget to consider how the raw materials got to the factory. [9B

The standardization of shipping containers greatly improves efficiency in intermodal transportation. Japan also uses "mini" containers that are shorter in length, and you can put multiple mini containers on a single flatcar. [10A

International container sizes are typically 20' or 40' in length. You can fit up to 90' of containers on a flatcar.
The USA likes 53' for domestic transportation. Inefficient for intermodality. [10B

Lorries are really good at getting things to the door. However, long haul road haulage (trips that take longer than a day) is generally inefficient. Ferries and trains are good for domestic freight transport. [11A

However, the USA's Jones Act has made ferries inefficient by bureaucracy. [11B

In Japan, 50% of shipping is done by lorry, 44% by ship, and 5% by train, even though they have extensive rail lines. Considering that Japan is an archipelago, the extensive usage of ferries makes sense. [12

Europe and Asia (excepting China) typically use the cab-over lorry model. In Europe this is because of vehicle total-length regulations. [13]