If Forrest Gump was a dispatcher, he probably would have said “Logistics is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to ship”! When transporting freight in 2023, often a box truck just isn’t going to cut it. In coastal areas, full-grown palm trees are often transported for landscaping. They are large, extremely heavy, yet delicate living things that can lose foliage during travel. (palmtalk.org)
A box truck to protect from the wind is ideal, but what if it’s just too large and delicate to cram in the truck? Now how are you going to safely transport the cargo that needs the protection of a box truck but simply won’t fit? For Palm trees particularly there are many solutions such as wrapping the leaves in plastic covering and binding them tightly with twine. (wewilltransportit.com) However, trees are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to transporting oddball items around the world.
At Tyger Logistics we are masters at maneuvering around transportation obstacles. There is an old Southern saying that comes to mind. “If you can’t cut the mustard, lick the jar” which basically means, there is often more than one way to get the job done. In this day and age, just about anything can be delivered to your door. Ever since Covid-19 and the increased reliance on shipping in the supply chain, the problem of transporting odd items has become a regular occurrence. Although, many strange items have already been shipped all over the world throughout history.
Specific examples of unique freight situations we have seen here at Tyger Include large robotics equipment that is not easily secured and does not fit into a box truck. It is crucial that electronics such as these are secured and do not shift during transport, as well as that they stay completely dry. Some items have included pieces like batteries that need to be secured or shipped separately. Tyger Logistics has been tasked with shipping large fragile trade show displays and high school sets for plays which took deliberate placement and strategic strapping, with precise padding for protection.
Extra shipping restrictions have been placed on certain hazardous items such as Co2 canisters and fireworks due to their explosive content. Pressure and static in an airplane could create a disastrous cocktail and cause a fatal incident. These items are mostly allowed for ground shipping only. Did you know that there are some items that are prohibited from being shipped by companies such as UPS? The aforementioned fireworks are included in this do not ship list. Another interesting one is corpses, cremated, or disinterred remains. Oddly enough, remains of humans and animals alike often must be transported for reasons other than simply getting a body to its final resting place. In fact, this is so common that the United States Postal Service has specific requirements laid out for mailing dead animals or parts of animals. (usps.com)
When someone donates their body to science at death, it must arrive at the facility often in a refrigerated truck. Refrigerated trucks were a major player in storing and transporting bodies during the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. When morgues and funeral homes ran out of space to store the deceased, they turned to reefer trucks for the temporary storage of bodies until space and the pandemic slowed. (cnn.com)
International shipping giants such as FedEx have encountered some out-of-this-world unique freight situations. One of the most interesting was in 2019 when FedEx was responsible for artifacts from tombs created by the Ancient Egyptians 3 millennia ago. Transporting Tutankhamen’s mummified remains in the ‘Treasures of the Golden Pharoah’ exhibition was a tedious task. Ancient artifacts are incredibly fragile and can deteriorate rapidly if exposed to moisture or improper storage during transport. The crates which held the artifacts had special tilt-sensing recorders for added security. That’s enough about shipping dead things, but what about living things?
Organisms such as plants and animals sometimes need transporting across the country, or even out of the country. Although Tyger Logistics has yet to ship any tigers, UShip reported having shipped two miniature donkeys back in 2017 from North Carolina to Connecticut. FedEx even shipped a Giant Panda from the USA to China via a Boeing 777. Bei Bei the Giant Panda was accompanied by a zoo keeper, a vet, and 70 lbs of snacks! The food had to be accessible during transport to feed Bei Bei en route to be with his brother at the Giant Panda Conservation in China. (fedexbusinessinsights.com)
Sometimes smaller animals like insects, reptiles, and amphibians are shipped right to your mailbox! The US Postal Service does allow the shipment of live animals through areas that offer guaranteed next-day delivery only. USPS even has a list of “Mailable Live Animals” which can be seen here. USPS Live Animal Mailing List. The list includes bees, birds, scorpions, fish, worms, insects, and an extensive list of cold-blooded animals.
Shipping smaller, fragile artifacts and live animals may sound treacherous, but what about a three-ton artifact from under the sea? In 2006 FedEx shipped pieces of the Titanic recovered from the infamous and devastating shipwreck on April 15, 1912, in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Atlanta Museum had an exhibition including a 3,000-lb piece of the Titanic’s hull which was resurrected from the vast depths of the sea. Talk about a headache to ship, lots of trouble went down with the hull! (pun intended) This second voyage for the ship hull would be treacherous much as its original journey. First, the items were mistakenly rerouted from Athens to Italy. Then held by customs and refused release until European and US offices from FedEx took charge and made their release possible. (fedexbusinessinsights.com)
At the end of the day, you never know what you might be shipping. Tyger takes some extra precautions daily with every shipment to help ensure safe and secure transport. Once someone decides to ship with us, we organize everything from pickup to delivery, from paperwork to appointment setting and special requirements, including driver assistance if the receiver needs help unloading. We strive to get you the safest, most efficient route and style of shipping. Cost efficiency is important for you, so we may even run loads as partials to avoid shipping with larger, more expensive trucks if it is just not necessary. Additionally, all of our shipments are tracked with GPS so we know where the truck is at all times and to ensure on-time delivery. The next time you have a tricky shipment to truck, trust Tyger with the tedious task!