Logistics & transporten
Break bulk
The transfer of goods from one mode of transport or vehicle to another during transit, involving intermediate handling.
Definition
Break bulk refers to any operation in which goods are unloaded from one vehicle or transport mode and reloaded onto another. The term also applies to the transport of goods in individual packages or units (as opposed to containerised transport).
Types of break bulk
- Intermodal: transfer between different transport modes (maritime → road, air → road)
- Intramodal: transfer between vehicles of the same mode (truck → truck, vessel → vessel)
- Logistics: passage through an intermediate warehouse (cross-docking platform, hub)
Operational consequences
Each break bulk operation generates:
- Additional costs for handling
- Additional delays
- Increased risk of damage, loss, and theft
- Potential formalities (customs, phytosanitary)
Optimisation
Operators seek to minimise break bulk through:
- Containerisation: the container remains sealed from origin to destination
- Multimodal transport with intermodal transport units (ITU)
- Cross-docking: direct transfer without intermediate storage
- Door-to-door planning with minimum transshipments