1 container – 22,176 bottles of wine
Transporting wine is an increasingly lucrative niche in the logistics industry. The liquid cargo has to be handled with the utmost of care, however, and transport firms also need a minimum of knowledge about wine, to ensure the goods aren’t damaged by temperature fluctuations.
The USA holds the world record amongst nations for wine imports. Last year the country accounted for 17.6% of global wine imports, bringing USD 6.5 billion worth into the nation. The USA is a particularly important sales market for Argentina and Chile, as the two countries exported wine worth USD 250–285 million to the USA in 2019. Hauliers wanting to transport wine face a series of special challenges, as the wine must neither suffer any damage to its quality nor be influenced by outside factors.
Many of the traders bank on the services provided by the logistician Dachser USA, which has gained something of a reputation for expertise in the wine niche. “Wine lovers expect the taste of their South American imports to remain unchanged by the transport,” according to Dachser USA managing director Vincent Touya. The container used plays an important role for this.
Warmth can harm a bottle of wine
If the consignment of wine is destined for a tropical clime, then the transporter needs to deploy a reefer container. A constant temperature of 10–20°C ensures that a wine retains all of its aroma.
Normal containers frequently make use of thermal insulation to protect the wine. If wine is transported in bottles, then they are usually packed six to a box.
One pallet can hold 84 boxes, and a 40 ft container can hold 22 pallets. This configuration enables a container to transport 22,176 bottles of wine. If we assume that these are the usual 0.75 l bottles, then a containerload of wine holds 16 632 l – which should suffice for a raucous evening out with lots of thirsty friends.
More space in tanks
If a trader banks on flexi-tanks, then he can easily transport far greater quantities for the same stake. The bags used in a 20 ft unit can hold up to 24,000 l of wine. But it has to be decanted at the destination and then, at the latest, it will be transported in bottles.
Wine logistics may represent something of a special effort for logisticians, it’s true, but it’s simultaneously an attractive niche in which to do business. 2019 saw wines worth a total of USD 36.1 billion exported worldwide, a figure that has grown by 13.1% since 2015. There are also plenty of wine transports that are carried out within national boundaries, of course.
