How cargo was transported in the cities of pre-revolutionary Russia and the USSR. Russian oversized cargo: how to transport super-heavy loads The Finns do not dictate to us
Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, which establishes liability for violation of traffic rules for heavy and large vehicles. The most radical change is that now not only the carrier, but also the shipper is recognized as the subject of this offense. In particular, Part 10 of Art. 12.21.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation now provides for a fine of 80 thousand to 100 thousand rubles for a shipper who allows loading in excess of established standards. - for entrepreneurs and from 250 thousand to 400 thousand rubles. - for organizations.
And if carriers and vehicle owners, as a rule, are quite familiar with the pitfalls in this area, then for shippers entering this pool for the first time, much may seem incomprehensible and unexpected. Of course, we are not talking about pleasant surprises in this case.
The goods must be loaded with a margin of 2-3 tons compared to the norm
The permissible masses of vehicles and permissible axle loads are provided for in appendices No. and to the Rules for the transportation of goods by road (approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 15, 2011 No. 272).
So, for example, a five-axle road train consisting of a two-axle tractor with a three-axle semi-trailer, according to Appendix No. 1, must have a total mass (gross weight) of no more than 40 tons. It would seem that everything is simple: if the weight of the vehicle without cargo is 13 tons, then, Having loaded 27 tons, the sender can sleep peacefully, because the total weight is 40 tons. But no.
It must be taken into account that weighing equipment at weight control points (especially at mobile weight control points) shows values that differ significantly from those shown by the sender’s equipment. Despite the fact that both equipment, as a rule, are “verified in accordance with the established procedure.” In practice, such discrepancies can reach 2-3 tons or even more. Therefore, even a reserve of 1 ton does not seem sufficient. It is optimal to load according to the scheme: “norm minus vehicle weight minus 2 tons (or even 3)”, otherwise there is a high probability of claims. Of course, the smaller the amount of cargo, the higher the cost and delivery price.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that, despite the presumption of innocence (Article 1.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation), courts, as a rule, ignore the testimony of the sender’s scales (even the most accurate ones) and unconditionally trust the testimony of the scales of the weight control posts (certificates on them, as a rule , There is). Therefore, you should not have any special illusions on this score and expect that the weighing results can be challenged in court. Although, of course, in the event of a dispute, such discrepancies must be indicated as one of the arguments.
There is an opinion that overload on axles with a “normative” total mass is not punishable. This position is especially often expressed in relation to bulk and liquid cargo. Fortunately, such an idea is becoming less and less common: liability for violation of axial loads is no different from liability for exceeding the total mass of the cargo, and there are no relaxations here and are not expected.
At the same time, in practice, axle weighing is practically not carried out by shippers, which creates additional risks of attracting under Art. 12.21.1 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. After all, without checking the axial loads during loading at all, the sender will not be able to refer to the fact that he took all measures to prevent a violation.
The driver is not to blame for the displacement of bulk cargo during transportation, because he cannot control it
The transportation of bulk and liquid cargo has certain specifics. The fact is that, due to their physical properties these loads shift during movement, and the driver has no real control levers over the distribution of the load: in practice, drivers can “tug” the car, trying to distribute the load evenly, but this is all done, as they say, by eye. The axial weighing of bulk or liquid cargo during loading does not completely improve the situation: as already mentioned, the courts trust the scales at the weight control point. Although, perhaps, the sender will be able to convince the court that the cargo has shifted after loading and it is not his fault.
It should be noted that there are a number of positive decisions on this issue at the level of the constituent and district courts. The decisions indicate that exceeding the axial load for bulk cargo does not constitute an offense under Art. 12.21.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, since the driver (carrier) cannot control its distribution during movement due to the displacement of the cargo, and, accordingly, the driver is not at fault.
This position, in particular, was reflected in a number of judicial acts.
Thus, in one of the cases, the regional court indicated that the district court unmotivatedly rejected the driver’s explanations that the load on the axle occurred due to sudden braking of the car, as a result of which an uneven distribution of the transported cargo was revealed. When loading cement and leaving the cement truck on the road, it was weighed at 35 tons (with a permissible weight of 40 tons) and the axle load was not exceeded. However, while the vehicle was traveling through mountainous terrain, the cargo could shift in the cement truck, and on the road without scales this fact cannot be established. At the same time, by virtue of Part 4 of Art. 1.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, irremovable doubts about the guilt of a person brought to administrative responsibility are interpreted in favor of this person. Based on this, the court referred the case for a new trial (decision of the Krasnodar Regional Court dated July 12, 2012 in case No. 12-1093/2011).
In another similar case involving a cement truck, the court also sided with the cargo carrier. The court noted that when weighing a car with cargo being transported, the weight control inspector did not describe the conditions under which the weighing was carried out when calculating the fee for compensation for damage caused by the vehicle. Thus, the document did not indicate on what surface the car was weighed, whether this surface was flat or had a slope, and the nature of the cargo being transported was not taken into account - cement, which has free-flowing properties and moves in the container during movement. In addition, in the calculation of the fee for compensation for damage caused by the vehicle, possible errors in the scales used when weighing a car with cargo were not indicated, and therefore this error was not taken into account (decision of the Topkinsky City Court of the Kemerovo Region dated 03/06/2014 to case No. 12-24/14).
In another case, the court found that the driver was not to blame for exceeding the permissible load on one of the axles of the flour truck, since flour is a loose, movable dust load. When the vehicle moves, the dust load is distributed throughout the tank depending on the driving mode (acceleration, braking, etc.), as well as the road terrain (descent, ascent). Accordingly, the driver of the vehicle cannot control the load on the axles of the vehicle (decision of the Primorsky District Court of Novorossiysk dated March 20, 2014 in case No. 12-32-14).
The courts took a similar position in other cases (decisions of the Krasnoarmeysky District Court of the Krasnodar Territory dated 03/02/2012 No. 12-15/2012, Adlersky District Court of Sochi, Krasnodar Territory dated 02/13/2013 No. 12-29/13, Abinsky District Court of the Krasnodar Territory dated 09/11/2015 No. 12-42/2014; resolution of the magistrate of judicial district No. 15 of Gelendzhik, Krasnodar Territory dated 08/29/2013 No. 15/5-1265/2013).
In addition to penalties, overloading may also lead to the detention of the vehicle (Article 27.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). Unfortunately, influencing the situation on the spot without risking prosecution under Art. 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for failure to comply with the requirements of a police officer, it is impossible: by drawing up a protocol on administrative offenses under Art. 12.21.1 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, a policeman can detain a car, period. However, subsequently, losses (including, apparently, lost profits) can be attempted to be recovered from Russian Federation(based on the provisions of clause 9 of the Information Letter of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated May 31, 2011 No. 145).
Courts often ignore the specifics of bulk cargo when holding a carrier liable
In practice, there are judicial acts that ignore arguments about the impossibility of evenly distributing the axial load when transporting bulk cargo. The judges mainly rely here on the fact that the legislation does not establish any exceptions regarding the type of cargo.
In such cases, the courts proceed from the formal signs of a committed offense - the presence of excess axial load, the absence of grounds for challenging the readings of the scales at the weight control point and, accordingly, the legality of bringing the cargo carrier to justice (decision of the Krasnosulinsky District Court of the Rostov Region dated April 15, 2015 in case No. 12 -37/2015, Efremovsky District Court of the Tula Region dated 05/05/2015 in case No. 12-24/2015, Zernogradsky District Court of the Rostov Region dated 06/26/2015 in case No. 12-95/2015). At the same time, arguments about the absence of overload in terms of total weight, about the nature of the cargo and the insignificance of overload by ships are rejected.
And this, in general, is true; the law really does not make any reservations regarding the nature of the cargo being transported. But, on the other hand, it is not clear how the driver should physically control the distribution of bulk or liquid cargo? Moreover, it is not clear how the shipper should control such placement?
In essence, such a formal approach means objective imputation - responsibility without guilt. At the same time, in informal conversations, employees law enforcement and judges often recommend “loading less,” forgetting that, for example, 20 tons of cement in a tank can shift so that on one of the axles there will be an excess of 2–3 tons, while on others the axle load will not reach even half of norms.
Transportation and delivery of goods is as old as the world. First land-caravan, then sea. The present time is characterized by a different scale and pace. Transporting goods from manufacturers to customers is one of the first “professions” of a car, not as bright and heroic as service in the fire department or at an ambulance station, but no less significant.
As soon as the car ceased to be a capricious and expensive toy and turned from “exotic” into a vehicle capable of successfully competing with horse-drawn analogues, “services” that use horse-drawn traction in their work drew attention to it. The military and fire departments turned their face to “self-propelled vehicles” decisively, without regard to the cost of their operation. Trade representatives watched the development of motoring with caution for some time.
The meaning of commerce is to make a profit, which means that using vehicles to transport goods made sense only when it became truly profitable. It was necessary to wait for the machines themselves to become cheaper, their carrying capacity and reliability to increase. As soon as progress made it possible to meet all the above conditions, enterprising businessmen began to create specialized cargo garages - analogues of modern car depots. Representatives trading business entered into transport service agreements with them. It was more profitable than starting (and maintaining) your own fleet of vehicles.
MKK vehicle fleet
Replacing dray cabs with trucks and vans in the already existing structure of trade transportation was, literally and figuratively, a matter of technology. Moreover, the delivery of goods over short distances in urban conditions did not require the vehicles to have either increased cross-country ability, super-reliability, or high load-carrying capacity.
A specialized bus for transporting shoes on a ZIS chassis with an Aremkuz body
It is interesting that by the time of motorization of trade transportation, devices already existed that made it possible to “reconcile” the specifics of the goods with the conditions of transportation. First of all we're talking about about perishable products. In 1803, American entrepreneur Thomas Moore created a container that could preserve food for a long time. He patented it under the name “refrigerator”.
PAZ refrigerators and isothermal vans were very popular in the USSR. Because of the image of penguins on the back door, people called them “penguins.”
The main part of the transport fleet engaged in the delivery of goods to outlets, make up ordinary vans, which are usually called manufactured goods, although they can transport both piece-packed industrial goods and food products that do not require special conditions transportation, and isothermal vans. The walls of the latter are sheathed with special materials to maintain certain temperature conditions inside the body (thermal insulation), for example, for transporting freezing products in winter (milk, juices, etc.), and in summer - goods that spoil at high temperatures (sausages, butter, eggs, etc.).
Van on GAZ-51A chassis, converted for transportation of lightweight cargo
The third type of van, very few in number due to its high cost, is refrigerators. They are equipped with refrigeration units and can independently maintain a certain temperature in the body for a long time. Such vehicles are used for transporting chilled and frozen products. Mass production of thermally insulated vans was established in the second half of the 1930s, after in March 1935, at the All-Union Conference of Refrigerators, Mikoyan noted in his speech that our refrigeration industry has a backward section - refrigerated vehicles.
Van on GAZ-51A chassis for transporting beer
In the same year, the People's Commissariat of Food Industry of the USSR at the Odessa plant "Frigator" organized piece production of refrigerator cars on the GAZ-AA and ZIS-12 chassis according to the projects of the All-Union Scientific Research Refrigeration Institute. True, at that moment the domestic industry was not yet ready to produce compact refrigeration units that could be installed on a car, so the body was cooled using dry ice or an ice-salt mixture. They had to be loaded into a special compartment of the car before each trip.
Road train with a GAZ-51P truck tractor and a manufactured goods semi-trailer
In the pre-war years, many body factories made their contribution to the trade in specialized transport: the Moscow Autobody and Gorky Body Plants, which manufactured isothermal vans on the “three-ton” and “one and a half” chassis, respectively; Transport reconstruction plant in Moscow, producing luxury vans; Workshops of the car depot of the meat processing plant named after. Mikoyan and the Leningrad Meat Processing Plant, providing themselves with specialized transport for transporting meat carcasses, etc.
Special bus PAZ-651 for transporting clothes
After the war, the destroyed economy had to be restored. But life gradually got better. At the end of 1947, the card system introduced in 1941 was abolished. In 1950, the production of food and light industry goods reached pre-war levels, and the trading network was restored. At the same time, there was a consolidation of car depots engaged in the transportation of goods. If previously each meat processing plant or factory tried to have its own transport, then after the war there was a centralization of such transportation. Instead of hundreds of small car depots, or even just parking lots, sometimes not even having a garage for high-quality repairs, car factories are being formed. Based on summary charts on motor transport enterprises dispatchers developed optimal routes for the delivery of goods.
Van on ZIL-130 chassis for transporting milk
By this time, the General requirements requirements for specialized bodies. Here are just a few of them: “...the internal lining of the bodies of vans intended for the transportation of food products must provide the possibility of sanitary treatment; the body structure must provide the ability to perform loading and unloading from both sides, which is achieved by increasing the number of doors and using various loading and unloading mechanisms (forklifts, conveyors, roller tables, etc.); doorways should be as large as possible: at least 1200 mm in width and 1700 mm in height; body doors must have a reliable seal and be equipped with locks (latches) with latches and devices for sealing; If possible, the floor of the body should be smooth, without wheel arches, since the presence of the latter limits the use of the internal overall dimensions of the body.”
Furniture van on GAZ-52A chassis
By the mid-60s, government regulations divided all transported cargo into narrow nomenclature groups. At the same time, the specialization of rolling stock is expanding. New models of equipment are being created, intended for the transportation of only one product group. For example, the Moscow Aremkuz plant created a specialized van for transporting ready-made dresses and coats on rails so that the “marketable” appearance of the products would not be lost during transportation, and the Gorky Specialized Vehicle Plant created vans for transporting medicines.
Road train for transporting furniture with a GAZ-51P truck tractor
In the 70-80s, vans appeared equipped with several side doors, sometimes sliding, in order to load the vehicle with goods pre-packed in pallets. different sides using forklifts. Container transportation of goods in special small carts on wheels is becoming widespread. For their transportation, vans with rear lifting sides are used. Tartu Automobile Repair Plant (Estonia) and Moscow ARZ No. 8 were among the first in the country to establish the production of such vans. As a result, there was no need for “transshipment” unloading, since standardized containers were rolled out from the vehicle directly to shopping room, and from them trade was carried out, for example, in vegetables and groceries.
TA 3763 for container transportation
Interesting Facts
In the 60s, the Lutsk Machine-Building Plant (later LuAZ) became one of the leading manufacturers of isothermal vans. The most widespread were the 4.5-ton LuAZ-890B refrigerated vans based on the ZIL-130, but the company’s product range also included lesser-known models. For example, the LuMZ-945 refrigerated vehicle based on the Moskvich-432 van. The FGK-07 refrigeration unit was located in this car next to the driver’s seat, and in the body, lined on the inside with sheet aluminum and equipped with a foam thermal insulation layer, there were two cold accumulators.
The Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant also made its contribution to replenishing the fleet of delivery vans. Rear-wheel drive modifications of all-wheel drive vehicles - UAZ-451 and UAZ-451M vans - were of no interest to the armed forces, but in the field of transportation they occupied a vacant intermediate position between vans based on the Moskvich-432 station wagon and full-size "booths" on cargo chassis.
In the 50-60s of the XX century one of the most large manufacturers specialized bodies in our country became the Gorky Trade Mechanical Engineering Plant. It is not difficult to guess that the basis for the products of this enterprise were GAZ truck chassis. At first 51 and 51A, later - 52A and 53A, mainly with an extended frame. This made it possible to equip vehicles with bodies of increased capacity, which made it possible to more efficiently use the vehicles' carrying capacity.
In the mid-60s, the line of Gorky vans was quite large and diverse: an isothermal van for transportation perishable products GZTM-95E and van for transportation of industrial and food products GZTM-952 (both based on GAZ-51 A with an extended frame). The isothermal van on the GAZ-53A chassis was designated GZTM-950, van general purpose based on GAZ-52A - GZTM-891. The van for transporting furniture on the GAZ-51 A chassis was called GZTM-954, and on the GAZ-52 A chassis it was called G31M-893A.
The appearance of refrigerated vehicles in the USSR in the second half of the 1930s not only helped reduce losses of perishable products during transportation, but also made it possible to significantly diversify the range of meat and fish products on store shelves. Correct transportation conditions made it possible to deliver to trading network meat not only in whole carcasses, but also in chopped and packaged form. They began to clean the fish of scales, entrails, fins and bones, thanks to which fillets went on sale. In addition, it became possible to optimize delivery routes for perishable products, since “lossless transportation” made previously inevitable intermediate loading and unloading at stationary freezing points unnecessary.
Refrigerated vehicle 1ACH on GAZ-51A chassis
In the 50s, not only specialized enterprises, but also some automobile factories were engaged in the production of specialized bodies. For example, the Pavlovsk Bus Plant on the GAZ-51 chassis produced not only buses, but also PAZ-657 vans for transporting bakery products. The car body had four double doors on the right wall and was divided into four compartments with trusses and guides for laying trays. Its volume was 13.5 m3. Complete with this van, a single-axle PAZ-658 trailer could be used with double-leaf doors and three compartments for trays. The volume of the trailer was 5.9 m3. In addition, on the basis of the “bread truck”, the PAZ-661 clothing transport van and the PAZ-659 auto shop were produced, which differed from the basic modification in the location of doors, windows and the internal layout of the body.
Previously, it was believed that road transport could compete with railways only at distances of up to 1000 km. But the constant increase in tariffs for rail transportation (see graph) makes it economically profitable to use motor transport over ever longer distances. “Oil cargo from the Yaroslavl refinery is already transported by cars over a distance of up to 2000 km! This has never happened before! “exclaims a top manager of a railway operator, talking about switching cargo from rail to road transport. According to the general director of the Infoline-Analytics agency, Mikhail Burmistrov, every year 2-3% of the total amount of cargo transported by rail is spent on motor transport. Road transport is faster, more convenient and often cheaper than rail, shippers explain. In 2013, loading on Russian Railways amounted to 1.24 billion tons, and the monopoly predicts that by 2030 the share of cargo transported by road will increase to 11%, and by rail - will decrease to 83% (see chart).
But a general decline in production and a slowdown in economic growth hit both segments: Russian Railways records a decline freight transport, road freight transportation has hardly grown compared to last year - even the flow of cargo from railway workers does not help road carriers.
Car vs. truck
The flow of light and medium cargo to vehicles has been taking place over the last 3-4 years, says Evgeny Firsov, general director of the transport company PEK. This is what he talks about Commercial Director LLC “Multimodal Container Service” Olga Kartasheva: “For light and medium-sized cargo, which are often distributed in small quantities, road transport is more convenient and cheaper than rail.” Delivery of 13 tons of products from St. Petersburg to Alma-Ata in a 125 cubic meter car. m will cost approximately 183,000 rubles. without VAT, Kartashev gives an example, and the cost of delivering this cargo by car will be 120,000 rubles. excluding VAT, “accordingly, vehicles are cheaper by 4,846 rubles. for every ton of product." The cost of transporting a kilogram of cargo from Moscow to Khabarovsk via the DPD express delivery service network using road transport is almost equal to the cost of transportation in the mail and luggage car of the Moscow-Khabarovsk fast train, says Sergei Vlasov, head of the department for organizing freight transportation in Russia at DPD.
The main advantages of road transport over rail transport, which all senders talk about, are door-to-door delivery of cargo and predictable delivery time.
The recent trend is the refusal of rail transportation by those shippers who were previously among the main clients of Russian Railways: timber processing companies, cement producers, metallurgists. Their main complaints about the monopoly are high tariffs, slowness and delays.
In the transportation of cement, the share of railway transport decreases annually by approximately 4-5%: in 2010 it was 65%, in 2013 - already 49.5%, says Denis Nazarov, head of the logistics department of Baselcement. The reasons for this, in addition to the increase in railway tariffs, are the localization of the production of cement and building materials, he explains: over the past five years, several new industries have been opened near areas of mass construction, which has made delivery by road incomparably more convenient and often cheaper. For timely delivery of cement by rail, the recipient must submit an application 7-10 days before the delivery date, and in the case of road transport - just one day.
“Due to the nature of the products of heavy industry enterprises, it is impossible to significantly redistribute transportation to motor vehicles,” says an employee of a large mining and metallurgical company. “Therefore, although the share growth is observed, it is calculated in a few percentage points.” But the number of those who prefer motor transport will grow following the increase in tariffs, adds a top manager of another large metallurgical company. Every percentage point increase in the railway tariff increases the distance over which it becomes more profitable to transport goods by road, he explains.
In 2015, the Russian Railways tariff will increase by 10%, the government has decided. An increase in Russian Railways tariffs above inflation could have negative consequences for the industry and lead to a reduction in production, increased costs, and loss of profitability, warns an employee of a mining and metallurgical company. Railway tariffs account for more than 10% of the cost of rolled products, according to NP Russian Steel (see chart).
Arkhbum (a subsidiary of the Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill, includes two factories for the production of corrugated packaging in the Moscow region) shipped 75% of products, or 601,000 tons, by rail in 2008, in 2013 - already 53.3%, or 436,300 t, says plant general director Vasily Knyrevich. The reason is “convenient and favorable price and service services” of motor transport. The cost of transportation on the route Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill - Podolsk branch of Arkhbum from warehouse to warehouse is on average 1100 rubles. for 1 t; payment in installments, delivery time - no more than two days, no bureaucratic problems, Knyrevich gives an example. In November, transportation to Podolsk by rail was 40% more expensive, delivery times were weeks, and payment was strictly based on prepayment, he says. " Railway transport“This is a state within a state,” Knyrevich sums up.
A representative of the railway monopoly believes that Russian Railways is in less favorable conditions compared to road carriers: “Motor transport has significant competitive advantages compared to railways - primarily due to the lower financial burden. Russian Railways maintains and develops railway infrastructure at its own expense common use, while the main costs of maintaining roads are borne by the state. In addition, road transport tariffs are not regulated by the state, which allows road transport to quickly respond to market fluctuations by changing prices.”
The main cargo transported by rail is oil, petroleum products, and coal, as listed by Dmitry Zotov, general director of the leasing company Transfin-M. The railway outperforms motor transport at distances over 2000-3000 km, notes Kartasheva. Rail transport is more convenient and reliable where the network of paved roads is insufficiently developed - in Siberia, in Far East, when transporting large volumes of cargo to large industrial facilities or ports, says Nazarov. Railways are also preferable when it comes to large-sized cargo that does not require special temperature conditions, when there is a large margin of time, notes the director of the department transport logistics Molkom cameraman Timur Ratnikov. If in transportation in tons the share of road transport is 4 times greater than that of railway transport, then in ton-kilometers the figure of railway transport is 9 times higher than that of road transport, Zotov gives an example.
Competition in crisis
Following the general decline in production, transportation is also falling. Russian Railways predicts a decrease in freight traffic by 1.8% to 1.2145 billion tons, Interfax wrote with reference to financial plan Russian Railways for 2014-2017 Deputy Head corporate finance Russian Railways Pavel Ilyichev called the forecast for 2014 “conservative” and based on the forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development, the agency noted. “We have a downward trend. This year, apparently, despite the titanic efforts of workers, cargo owners and manufacturers, we will still hardly be able to rise,” admitted Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin.
The situation is no better for road carriers. The road freight transport market has slowed down its growth rate to almost zero: according to Rosstat, road transport freight turnover in the first nine months amounted to 180.4 billion ton-kilometers, which is only 0.2% more than last year. For comparison: during the same period in 2013, cargo turnover increased by 1.2%. Kamaz says that in the first nine months of 2014 it reduced sales in Russia by 13.5% to 23,013 trucks. The market fell by 8.8%.
Some carriers, however, do not yet feel a significant drop. In the nine months of 2014, DPD sent 9.9 million parcels, which is 15% more than last year, says Yuri Minakov, head of the department for organizing road and rail transportation at DPD in Russia. The cargo turnover of the Autotrading company during this period increased by 7% to 225,000 tons. The head of the Intertransavto Group of Companies, Alexander Volik, states that over the three quarters of 2014, the number of flights in the company increased by 14.5% compared to the same period in 2013 g, without specifying cargo turnover.
Nevertheless, market participants are recording a decrease in the volume of average cargo. At PEK, this figure fell by 0.1 cubic meters over the year. m to 0.9 cu.m. m, overcoming the psychological barrier of 1 cubic meter. m, says PEK General Director Evgeniy Firsov. “In the last six months, a trend has been clearly visible: those who used to send a truck are sending half a truck, instead of 500 kg - now 100 kg,” confirms Vladimir Kidyaev, director of the Gruz-Express delivery service.
The reason is the general economic downturn: the slowdown in the implementation of new projects, the outflow of investment from Russia and inertia in the construction market. The sectors that carriers depend on - construction, industrial and consumer goods - have been falling throughout the year, all players surveyed said. According to Rosstat, the index industrial production in January - September compared to January - September last year increased by 1.5%, and the volume of work performed in the “construction” type of activity during the same period fell by 3.3%.
The problems of shippers were felt in the Intertransavto company, which began to have problems with accounts receivable. “Nothing like this happened in previous crises,” says Volik. - We specialize in working with largest enterprises Ekaterinburg and the region, the volumes of transportation of such companies are very large. All these organizations operate on a significant deferred payment basis. Hence the huge accounts receivable." According to him, Intertransavto’s receivables have now reached a historical maximum.
The situation is aggravated by the food embargo and the depreciation of the ruble.
Due to sanctions, some carriers that carried out direct deliveries to Europe were forced to switch to the domestic market, says Vladimir Matyagin, chairman of the board of NP Gruzavtotrans. According to him, this led to competition and curbed the growth of transportation prices. Prices over the past few years have been indexed only to the level of inflation. Average cost of 1 cubic meter m of groupage cargo for inter-terminal transportation on the Russian market in 2011 amounted to 1921 rubles. (during the calculation all existing directions and distances were taken into account), the PEK company calculated it based on its orders. In 2014, this figure reached 2878 rubles. Carriers have become more loyal, confirms Vlasov from DPD: “They fix the cost of transportation for a long period - from one to two years. At the same time, we agree with them that changing tariffs is possible only if the cost of automobile fuel increases by more than 10% of the price fixed when signing the agreement.”
“Now we don’t notice the effect of the depreciation and decrease in purchasing power - stocks of consumer goods are usually purchased for 2-2.5 months in advance, especially since soon New Year, says Firsov from PEC. “We may experience a decline in cargo turnover, but only after the New Year.” The main effect of the introduction of sanctions should also be expected after the New Year, agrees Pavel Zelyukin, director of the Vozovoz company: “The scale of the losses will become clear later, when it becomes known how the European Union and, most importantly, the main importers from European countries will behave in 2015 ."
Russian Railways' response
According to Matyagin, 35-40% of the cost road transport- the price of fuel, which has increased by about 30% over the past three years. Many carriers are on the brink of survival, he says, in order to maintain positive business profitability, they have to break the law: take flights with overloads, use old cars with technical faults, etc.
In order to compete more successfully with motor transport, Russian Railways proposed to abolish tariff regulation of railway transportation at a distance of up to 1000 km, but the FTS did not agree with this. Then Russian Railways found another way. “In order to preserve cargo, Russian Railways provides the client with additional services: transshipment at the port, sea freight, scheduled transportation, organization of transportation through the territory of foreign railway administrations, as well as transition to electronic document management, - says a representative of the monopoly. “On a number of routes, the company is ready to offer the client a single through rate along the entire cargo route from the seller to the buyer.”
When powerful tractors appear on our already crowded roads, dragging oversized cargo on long trailers, few people feel joy about it. However, one cannot help but see this as a good sign: if someone is carrying giant turbines, presses, transformers, construction machines, then such equipment is needed Russian economy. But is it easy to carry heavy loads in Russia?
Oleg Makarov
The equipment for transporting oversized cargo looks impressive, if not regal. Mighty diesel tractors with two or even three driven axles pull trailers, semi-trailers and modular wheeled platforms of the most different designs. In this area, the trendsetters are foreign manufacturers, such as the German Goldhofer or the Belgian Fayonville. They as well Russian enterprises in Chelyabinsk and Tver they offer wide range platforms for transporting oversized cargo of various sizes and types. For example, for long loads such as crane beams, long pipes or concrete structures, semi-trailers are made with a sliding central beam, which allows the trailer to be extended while maintaining it as a single rigid structure. Another option is the so-called dissolution. In this case, the rear bogie is completely separated from the platform, and the load (for example, the same pipe) acts as the supporting structure of the trailer. Trailers and semi-trailers for the transportation of oversized heavy loads are produced mainly in a flatbed version (unless we are talking about transport for some special tasks), which makes it possible to stack on sites loads that are significantly larger in width than the trailer itself. However, if the width of the trailer is not enough, and the cargo weighs about hundreds of tons, so-called modular wheeled platforms are used. As their name suggests, these modules can be assembled together to create a towed platform of almost any length, as well as width, because modular platforms can be mounted either one after another or in a row. For ease of loading and to reduce the height of the cargo, all trailers are made according to a low-frame design with a platform height in the range of 0.5-0.9 m.
Let's taxi together
One of the “moments of truth” for a road train several tens of meters long is when it fits into turns among residential or industrial buildings. To facilitate maneuvering, the wheels of the axles of trailed platforms are capable of turning after the tractor entering the turn. Moreover, if on some designs the axles make such a turn inertia, then in trailers of more complex designs the axles are controlled by hydraulics.
Not just wheels
A remarkable moment in the photo is that to transport cargo, probably weighing several hundred tons, a temporary bridge is being built on a floating support. The existing bridge is apparently not designed for such loads. In general, special projects for moving super-heavy cargo often require serious improvements to the infrastructure and sometimes take years. Sometimes special roads are built, for example, to bypass gas pipelines, and berths are reconstructed. It is worth noting that the heaviest loads are usually transported not over very long distances. For example, the “exploits” of companies like ALE are known, moving entire factories, houses and ships on assemblies of modular wheeled platforms. But these movements are usually carried out over a distance of several hundred meters to several kilometers within the construction site or seaport. By the way, despite the significant distribution of pressure, after the passage of a multi-axle platform, dents up to 10 cm deep remain on the asphalt, and the coating must be restored. Loads of 300−400 tons are transported, as a rule, within 100−200 km. However, if you think in scale Western Europe, this is not so little.
When the tractor turns, sensors installed on the turntable detect the turn and send commands to hydraulic devices, which, in turn, “steer” the axles. Many modern trailers for transporting oversized cargo also provide control of the trailer axles from a separate remote control. In the conditions of mountain serpentines or narrow streets of Western European cities, turning a road train is carried out with the participation of two people - the tractor driver and the trailer operator, who gives commands to the trailer axles from the remote control and communicates with the driver via radio. Some semi-trailers of the Fayonville Variomax type are equipped with so-called pendulum axles (independent suspension of wheel sets on both sides of the trailer), which makes it possible to transport heavy loads over uneven ground, for example on a construction site, without significant roll of the entire structure. It is also worth adding that low-bed trailers, as a rule, have ramps for the entry of self-propelled objects. In other cases, loading is carried out using cranes.
In other words, high-quality equipment, which can be used to transport oversized cargo, is quite accessible to transport companies. However, its operation in Russian conditions has, of course, its own specifics, determined by the main Russian troubles - roads and... the legislative-bureaucratic-corruption component.
To move oversized cargo in mountainous conditions, not one, but two or three tractors are often used. Please note that all vehicles carry a counterweight to improve traction.
Not enough space
When transporting oversized cargo, especially over long distances, the main question is usually not what to transport, but how. And let the highway not be railways with their rigid dimensions, measurements and calculations are required before transporting anything anywhere. For example, the average height of overpasses passing over roads is 4.5 m. Thus, if the height of the load is more than 4 m (and we must also take into account the height of the trailer), it will not fit under the bridge. This means that we need to somehow get out of the situation, for example, plan a route so that we can go around this bridge. Or on the way you may come across a power line with a wire height above the ground of 6 m. If the transported cargo reaches a height of 5.5 m, the power line must be turned off, otherwise, as our readers can easily guess, everything can end fatally for both the cargo and the tractor , and for the driver. To disconnect power lines or temporarily remove wires at railway crossings, the road train must be accompanied by aerial platforms and a crew of electricians. There is also the problem of the load-carrying capacity of bridges, and if the bridge, by its parameters, is not capable of passing, say, a hundred-ton road train, it must either be further strengthened, or use the so-called cap bridge, which is assembled from metal structures and placed on top of the existing one with support on the river banks or sides embankments. A separate topic is ensuring road safety. According to existing rules, if the width of the cargo exceeds 4 m or the length of the road train exceeds 30 m, an escort from the traffic police is required. After all, sometimes when driving on a typical two-lane road in Russia, a road train with a load 4-6 m wide actually blocks traffic in both directions. In this case, its movement consists of stages. The highway is blocked, the road train passes a certain section, then leaves the road and lets the flow pass, then resumes movement again.
Surely, transporting one ancient bulldozer on three steam cars (as shown in the photo from a modern retro show) requires both skill and ingenuity. But in the actual work of transporting oversized items, experience is also highly desirable. “Transportation of heavy and oversized cargo requires especially highly qualified tractor drivers,” says Roman Karp, “however, unfortunately, there are no training schools for specialists of this class in Russia, and category “E” licenses are considered sufficient evidence of qualifications. However, if a person has driven a Zila all his life, and then gets into the cab of a tractor with a 35-meter trailer, then the likelihood that something unpleasant will happen to him on the road is much higher compared to a driver who carries these 35 meters 10− 15 years. An experienced driver has knowledge that no driving school can provide - for example, an understanding that the load must be secured with a slight offset, compensating for the slope of the road surface. Such knowledge can be obtained either with experience (but it must be developed somewhere), or in the process special education" Maybe we should take an example from Germany, where in order to transport oversized cargo, all employees must undergo special training, and the carrier company must obtain certification?
Formidable excavator
Need I say after this that transporting large cargo is an extremely expensive and troublesome business, which naturally requires obtaining special permission from numerous approvals from Rosavtodor, the traffic police, and organizations that manage energy networks and bridges. It would seem that all these approvals, signatures and seals should guarantee the safety of oversized transportation, but in reality, as often happens in the reality we are familiar with, everything is somewhat different.
In 2006 in Ryazan region An accident occurred involving a tractor-trailer carrying heavy construction equipment. The height of the boom of the excavator standing on the trailer exceeded the height of the lower edge railway bridge, that is, the tractor with the cargo simply did not fit into the dimensions. However, if the excavator had been installed at least according to the rules (that is, with the boom backwards), then perhaps the consequences of the accident would not have been so large-scale - the boom would have simply been torn off. However, heavy construction machine stood on the trailer just as the rules do not say. As a result, when the road train passed under the bridge, the excavator literally reared up and moved one of the bridge spans. It was at this time that a freight train with tanks filled with gasoline was driving across the bridge. Several tanks derailed, the fuel ignited and a massive fire started. Another notable incident was noted in the center of Barnaul, when a KrAZ truck with an oversized cargo collided with tram wires and brought down two concrete supports to the ground, one of which flattened newsstand. Fortunately, in both cases there were no casualties, but even these incidents clearly demonstrate how dangerous the transportation of oversized cargo can be if their organizers decide to act at random.
The photo captures the moment of transportation to the installation site of a power plant turbine and transformer substation weighing hundreds of tons. Transportation was carried out on trailers assembled from modular wheeled platforms with pendulum axles.
The Finns are not our decree!
“Such incidents with the transportation of oversized cargo, unfortunately, occur regularly,” says CEO Moscow company "Inter-car" Roman Karp. “And all because the state is constantly trying to tighten something, to fight something, but it should be streamlined. In Finland, in order to arrange transportation, the company makes a request for e-mail, and a few days later an invoice and permission are sent to her via the same email. This permit is printed on a printer, and after paying the bill, you can go on your flight. Nobody collects any seals or signatures. If traffic police officers are interested in the authenticity of the permit, they enter its number into the electronic database and check it. In Russia, obtaining a permit (if we are talking about a road train up to 44 tons) may take two to three weeks. If a special project is planned to transport large-tonnage cargo over long distances, the bureaucratic red tape will stretch for months. And one moment. In the process of obtaining special permits, Rosavtodor is obliged to calculate the declared route in terms of the height and load capacity of bridges, the need to cross power lines, characteristics of the road surface, etc. However, for some reason it turns out that Rosavtodor sometimes prescribes a route that is not possible everywhere. drive through. Therefore, the responsibility for measuring the route falls on the carriers. And, unfortunately, such cases have become more frequent, especially in crisis years, when carriers ignore the need to measure the route. These organizations undertake to deliver, and then think about how to do it.”
Metal on serpentines
Long and complex approvals, excessively high, in the opinion of carriers, fees for road surface wear and the desire to save on measuring the route are pushing others transport companies in the jungle of “black” and corruption schemes. At the same time, companies that are ready to work “white-handed” suffer due to dumping by illegal carriers. If the market offers a second price lower than that which includes legal payments, the customer will often prefer it, thereby increasing the likelihood of incidents like the one in Ryazan or Barnaul. There is another reason why oversized transportation often becomes a source of potential danger: wear and tear on the trailer fleet.
“This is a general problem of our economy, but it concerns the heavy transport industry in particular: many transport companies, trying to seduce the customer with a low price, ignore such a thing as depreciation charges,” explains Roman Karp. — These deductions simply do not fit into their tariffs. Meanwhile, a modern trailer does not last very long. Ideally, it should pay for itself in three years, after five it already requires serious repairs, and after seven it should be written off at its residual value as scrap metal. If the trailer is used, for example, during construction in Sochi, then you need to understand that during sharp turns on mountain serpentines and elevation changes, the metal of the platform is subjected to significant torsional force and wears out very intensively. Its actual service life is even shorter. Nevertheless, the industry widely uses old equipment, including equipment built 40 years ago.”
To transport the 60 m long wind generator blade, a telescopic semi-trailer towed by a four-axle tractor was needed. Loads with a unique configuration require special installation on the trailer. In this case, the blade has three support points.
Hike to the East
Despite all the listed organizational and technical problems of the industry, oversized transportation in Russia, according to representatives of carriers, is carried out very actively. And although in Russia, rich in reservoirs, an alternative exists and is used in the form of river and maritime transport, in some cases, motor transport is practically irreplaceable, because even building a special road to the unloading site will be cheaper than digging a canal there. Today in our country, in the presence of some internal traffic, an important direction for oversized transportation is the “west-east” axis. Produced in very limited quantities industrial equipment Russia is bringing machines, containers, and transformers for factories under construction or modernization. Loaded at the seaports of European Russia, tractors drag huge parts of future production into the interior of the country, overcoming bridges, crossings, power lines and some features of our social structure.
We thank the companies “Inter-Car” (Moscow) and “TIS Group” (St. Petersburg) for their assistance in preparing the material
