8. Complete the missing details and label the drawing with the words from the box.

height ● payload ● length ● tare weight ● width ● gross weight

2.32 m	12.02 m 2.35m	Type of container: 40 ft open top
		1.	__________ : 4,030 kg
		2.	__________ : 32,500 kg
		3.	maximum ____ : 28,470 kg
		Internal measurements:
		4.	__________ : 12.02 m
		5.	__________ : 2.35 m
		6.	__________ : 2.32 m

9. Rewrite the sentences.

Example: The container is 6 metres long.

The length of the container is six metres. (Or: The container’s length is 6 metres.)

1.	The package weight 45 kg.
2.	This seagoing vessel is about 30 m wide.
3.	The case we need to ship is 1 m long, 50 cm wide and 35 cm high.
4.	Its depth is nearly 3 cm.
5.	The ship’s length is more than 65 m.
6.	The open container’s door height is 7 ft 10 in.

10. What do these abbreviations stand for?

1.	ft	______________________________
2.	kg	______________________________
3.	oz	______________________________
4.	cm	______________________________
5.	lb	______________________________
6.	cu yd	______________________________
7.	m2	______________________________
8.	1”	______________________________
9.	pt	______________________________
10.	gal	______________________________

V. Writing Section

1. Read and translate the following text. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Carrier Rating Systems. Since the buyer is not “locked in” to only certain carriers, but can elect to change carriers or split business among competing carriers, it is important, at least for those 20 percent of the carriers with which the firm does 80 percent of its transport volume, that some formal system for rating carrier performance be developed and used. An example of a simple form developed by one company to assist plants and the corporate office to evaluate experience with each carrier is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Carrier Rating Form

Carrier name: ___________________________________ Date: ____________

Business allocation decision (circle one)

Decline Status quo Growth

Areas rated:

1.	Branch / plant
	a)	Tracing, expediting (0 – 5): responds quickly, accurately.
	b)	Pickup and delivery service (0 – 10): reliable, on schedule, customer service-oriented.
	c)	Loss and damage (0 – 5): incidence, reconciles discrepancies quickly, good controls.
	d)	Transit time reliability (0 – 10): service performance, customer satisfaction.
	e)	Equipment condition (0 – 10): in proper repair, placards available.
	f)	Special service and innovativeness (0 – 10): provides trailer spotting when requested, trailer pools, provides special pickups and deliveries.
2.	Corporate
	a)	Billing (0 – 5): accuracy, submits original freight bills.
	b)	Financial (0 – 15): quick debt / worth, operating rations, trends, mergers, ownership.
	c)	Service (0 – 10): interface tracing, expediting, general carrier cooperation.
	d)	Claims ratio, payment or claim resolution history, loss and damage control program.
	e)	Data inquiry (0 – 15): automated systems, agreeable interface.
	f)	Innovativeness (0 – 5): industry leader, new ideas, distribution-oriented.
	g)	Pricing (0 – 5): willingness to negotiate, independent action, alerts shipper.

Private or Leased Carriers. One possibility is the use of private or leased equipment. A private carrier or a leased carrier does not offer service to the general public. Many companies have elected to contract for exclusive use of equipment; and some have established their own trucking fleet, through use of either company-owned or leased tractors and vans.

Leasing gives the firm much greater flexibility in scheduling freight services. It can be economically advantageous, but unless the equipment can be fully utilized, through planned backhauls of either semi-finished or finished goods, it may turn out to be more costly than use of the common carrier system. Also, it is important that the firm recognize and provide adequate protection against the very substantial dollar liability that may result in the case of accident.

Under deregulation, the use of private or leased vehicles is a much more viable alternative, and is a type of make-buy decision. The regulations covering use of private or leased equipment have been relaxed to permit firms with wholly-owned subsidiaries to engage in intercorporate hauling and to backhaul product, which may provide the volume needed to make this alternative economically worthwhile.