Moving behemoths

  When it comes to shipping, Caterpillar thinks big.
  One of its largest and most challenging shipments in its product portfolio is the 797 mining truck.
  The truck chassis and engines are sourced from a plant in Decatur, Ill., while the massive buckets are made in Monterrey, Mexico. When fully assembled, these trucks weigh as much as two fully loaded and fueled Boeing 747s, or 1.3 million pounds.
  Due to their massive size, the trucks are shipped in pieces. It requires seven to nine railcars or trucks, along with several containers, to move the parts of one 797 to the outbound port. To get the lowest customs duty rate, all parts must arrive at the destination port on the same vessel.
  The trucks are assembled at the customer site, which are not easy to reach with many of them located in the remotest parts of the world, such as Mongolia, Siberia, South Asia, Africa and South America. “There can’t be any variability or randomness in the shipping patterns,” said Tom France, the company’s director of transportation and supply chain solutions.
  The inland transport routes to these sites are likely riddled with infrastructural challenges, such as inadequate roads and weight-restricted bridges. It’s also not uncommon for shipments to require armed escorts.
  For Caterpillar, it wouldn’t matter if its manufacturing operations were centered in the United States or located somewhere abroad.  The logistics challenges are all the same. “Our supply lines are basically long and they will continue to be long no matter where we are,” France said.