Comprehensive, On-Time, Specialized Transportation

Hudson utilizes a wide range of grabs, from general purpose to specialized use. They're stored in ports of call and on vessels around the world in order to maintain a high level of availability for use with Hudson cargoes. Through careful planning and organization, and coupled with their vast fleet of vessels, Hudson is able to move the grabs through their existing supply chain infrastructure to the areas where they are necessary. Occasionally, it may be required to source a set of grabs in a remote or one-time stop along the way, but rarely is there a problem in doing so.

Hudson’s massive supply chain infrastructure includes specialists in land transportation and inland logistics. Customers requiring door-to-door service will engage Hudson who are able to step up and offer unparalleled and competitive options for delivery/transference of the product within a scheduled time and at C.O.S.T.©

Bottlenecks in the logistics chain can cause major headaches and even larger costs for ensuing delays. One particular problem usually happens during the discharge of product from the vessel to quay-side. Different customers require different delivery methods, which may include anything from depositing directly to shore on up to the immediate delivery to the back of trucks. In the latter of these situations, Hudson has partnered with stevedores to deploy large hoppers that act as a buffer while discharging cargo. This C.O.S.T.©-saving method allows more cargo to be easily and quickly discharged into the hopper, which in turn will methodically fill each truck that passes underneath. This allows for efficiencies in not only speed, but also quality, as more of the product reaches the truck due to the more controlled distribution made possibly by hopper.

Occasionally, Hudson will need to access ports that are not accessible by their larger ocean-going fleet. In this scenario, Hudson contracts a large fleet of barges to move customers' commodities to specific locations of their choosing and schedule. Hudson incorporates their C.O.S.T.© doctrine in order to offer the most effective method to bring cargoes to the specified resting places. Places like the Midwest United States are often best served by Hudson’s flotilla of barges to deliver the product where it is required.

Speed and efficiency often dictate a successful loading or discharge operation. These metrics are quantifiable through savings in man hours, vessel time, and labor usage. One of the many tools in Hudson's arsenal to aid in the increased efficiencies is the conveyor. Simple enough, but often overlooked in the shipping community, these belted behemoths offer an expedient alternative for loading bulk cargos that would be much slower had it be done through conventional methods, such as grabs. Even though they represent a significant investment of capital and real estate, they help Hudson to increase a customer's bottom line and thus improve profits via the C.O.S.T.© doctrine.

Innovation and adaptation top the list of necessary attributes when attempting to improve efficiencies in a profession that has been around for millennia. Enter the vacuvator. Grab discharge is great, but at ports with high traffic, Hudson has partnered with port authorities and stevedores in order to install vacuvators. Essentially, these vacuvators are just a very large vacuum machine that is used to extract all the cargo from the hold in an expedient and efficient manner. This C.O.S.T.© method assists Hudson in reducing a vessel’s stay in port during discharge. That savings is passed onto the customer in the form of a lower freight rate.

Spreader bars and other equipment are key parts of the Hudson Shipping arsenal. Spreader bars are used to evenly distribute the weight of bulky materials across a wider surface, increasing the amount of cargo that can be carried in each gear load, and therefore increasing the working rate. Excavators, skids, and other specialized equipment each service a specific need in the logistics chain. This equipment enhances the efficiency of the cargo handling process, adding value and reinforcing Hudson's C.O.S.T.© principles.