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Packing for Export Shipment Undergoing Modification By H. L. Stilwell board cases shipped from the Pacific coast were subjected to a freight premium that restricted their use. That situation was the result of an erroneous impression that fibreboard cases did not have the strength to withstand the sup- posed extra hazards of ocean voy- ages. This belief was general, even though fibreboard shipping cases had been in use for a number of years in domestic trade, which imposed upon them conditions essentially the same as those they would experience in foreign shipment. For instance, there were shipments of millions of cases of pineapple from Hawaii. The water distance from Honolulu to San Francisco is roughly, 2000 miles; whereas. the water distance from New York to London is a little over 3000. miles—relatively not a great difference when riding in a ship is the chief concern. U P TO Feb. 1, 1930, export fibre- Tested in Domestic Shipments In addition to the approximate parity in the mileage factor, the Hawaiian pineapple shipments ‘were subjected to extra handling. In or- der to reach the eastern market of the United States, they first came in- to San Francisco, were unloaded, then loaded again in an intercoastal vessel. This imposed at least two handlings after an initial voyage of 2000 miles, besides the first shipload- ing and stowage at the islands. On board the intercoastal freight- ers, the fibreboard cases for domes- tic use then began a voyage which took them through the Panama canal, and the Caribbean, thence up the eastern coast to New York or some other port. This entailed a seajour- ney of from 16 to 20 days, only a few days short of a direct transatlan- tic voyage from Pacific coast ports to Europe. Upon arrival, these fibreboard cases are of course unloaded, and then reloaded in freight cars for transshipment to inland points. Al- together they receive at least six to eight handlings, in addition to a wa- ter and land journey of over 8000 miles. These repeated handlings provide a real test for any case; and fibre- board shipping cases have stood the The author, H. L. Stilwell, is man- aging director of the Export Fibre- board Association, San Francisco. 58 ' shape. strain, trip after trip, in splendid Careful checkup has revealed a surprisingly small percentage of claims. With other products, fibreboard shipping cases were also undergoing the tests of great distances and mul- tiple handlings. Alaska salmon packers were sending their product to Seattle by water, and from Seattle many thousands of cases were being shipped to eastern ports such as New York. From Alaska to Seattle is about 2500 miles. From Seattle to New York is more than 7000 miles. In other words, the total mileage that these fibreboard cases traveled was more than 9000 miles. From Seattle to London, by direct water route, is only 8500 miles. from San Francisco to London the di- rect route is only 7800 miles—or relatively little more than the dis- tance covered by intercoastal steam- ers. This was the situation in the American market, late in 1929. Do- mestic shipments in steadily growing number were being made safely in fibreboard cases, but their use in ex- port shipments was virtually prohibi- tive by an excessive freight premium. Although fibreboard cases were be- ing successfully applied to intercoast- al domestic shipping, nevertheless old rules and outworn customs of the sea still insisted upon the neces- sity of using wooden boxes in foreign trade; and, therefore, two separate and entirely different operations of casing had to be maintained. Suitable for Foreign Shipments In order to cooperate with the shippers in their efforts to correct this situation, a number of test ship- ments of fibreboard cases (which re- quire no wire ties or iron bands) were accepted by some steamship companies; and thorough analyses were made under actual conditions. Careful records were kept of the ar- rival conditions, as well as regarding the net savings made by fibreboard _ cases against wood, from the packing house to the European consignee. Without exception, the shipments proved to steamship authorities, to underwriters, and to European buy- ers alike, that.fibreboard cases were not only feasible but desirable. These test shipments resulted in the forma- tion of the Export Fibreboard Case association, and the establishment of a standard of merit for members’ MARINE Review—April, 1932 Similarly, , cases used in exporting raisins and canned goods. Since that time, export fibreboard shipping cases have left western American ports in increasing num- bers, satisfactorily and economically delivering such products as raisins, canned fruits, fish, canned pineapple, etc. Since it has been demonstrated that export fibreboard cases reduce landed costs at the foreign ports, it may be asked whether the buyer is the only one who receives the bene- fit of such reductions. Not according to one of the leading shipping execu- tives on the Pacific coast. This man, who was among the first to recognize the possibilities of fibreboard cases for export shipment, summed up his conclusions as follows: A Real Saving to Shipowner “The two biggest causes of claims against a steamship company are pil- ferage and sweat. A cargo, passing through the cold waters of the Pa- cific, the warm currents of the Carib- bean, then the frigid temperature of the Atlantic, plus atmospheric changes evident on the outside, is | bound to be affected. Those condi- tions have been known to spot or rust cans, sometimes to foster a tinge of mold on dried fruits. We have found these tight and securely sealed export fibreboard cases particularly immune to such atmospheric changes. “The other cause for claim, pilfer- age, is substantially lessened by fi- breboard. When it is remembered that seldom are more than one or two cans taken from a ease, it is readily seen how export fibreboard cases discourage such thievery. Once such a case has been opened, the con- dition is easily discovered. We have experienced a material decrease in our claims since we have used fibre- board in our export shipments.”’ Atmospheric conditions have no effect whatsoever upon the security of the seal of a fibreboard case. It requires a specialized bit of equip- ment to break open a fibreboard ship- ping case, and to re-seal it without detection. This insurance against pilferage has been most effective, in shipment after shipment. With the progress which has al- ready been made in perfecting cases specially designed and processed for heavy sea service, it is apparent that a new standard of efficiency, for ex- porting of such products as canned goods and dried fruits, is being estab- lished, as a typical and distinctive mark of American development in the science of export distribution. The Maryland Drydock Co., Balti- more, announces the installation of an additional section in its drydock No. 1, thus giving the following dimen- sions: Length over all, 508 feet; width inside at bottom, 80 feet 2 inches; ca- pacity, 10,200 tons. The No. 2 dry- dock has a capacity of 9000 tons.