Transportation Decision Transportation decision consists of the following parts: 1.Selection of the mode is determined by the consideration of distance,cargo weights,linkage,timing and other requirements.Generally speaking,rail has high fixed cost and the relatively low variable cost.It can move heavy,large quantity of cargo in the long distance.But,rail is disadvantaged because of the longer transit time and less frequent service than motor. Motor carriers such as truck companies offer door-to-door service,that is,the cargo can be shipped from the shipper＇swarehouse to the consignee＇s.Trucking fixed cost is the lowest of any carrier,because the equipment is fairly cheap and the motor carriers do not have to invest in the roads on which they run their operations.However,their variable costs are very high.Its expenses include two major components:firstly,the pick-up and delivery costs;secondly,there are gas or fuel costs,labor expenses and toll roads fees to be paid to highway and toll road operators Therefore,motor transport is good for cargo with small quantity to be shipped within short distances. Water is the predominant choice of transportation as it has the capacity to take greatest quantity,travel longest distance with lowest cost.Transport by sea accounts for 80% of in-ternational trade.The major expenses for water are expenses associated with investment and maintenance of the ships and terminals.For example,a 100000-ton container ship costs US$ 200 million.Terminal associated costs include harbor fees and the cost for loading and unloading the goods. Transport by air has the highest cost but it is fast with the lowest ratio of loss and dam-age.If you need to deliver an urgent order,there is little choice but by air. 2.Transport service provider is selected for its experiences,equipment,services and prices.Competitive in the transport industry usually drives the prices down and motivates for better services.A company also chooses its transport service provider because of its long-standing business relationship with certain shipping companies. 3.The alternative routing and scheduling is specific for motor only because railway and water have strict route and timetable.Motor has special advantage in terms of flexibility.It has the ability to load goods at greater frequency,travel through different routes and making deliveries to different loca-tions.Questions:

Which mode account for most delivery in international trade?( )

A:By railway. B:By water. C:By air. D:By trucks.

Text 2 An industrial society, especially one as centralized and concentrated as that of Britain, is heavily dependent on certain essential services: for instance, electricity supply, water, rail and road transport, the harbors. The area of dependency has widened to include removing rubbish, hospital and ambulance services, and, as the economy develops, central computer and information services as well. If any of these services ceases to operate, the whole economic system is in danger. It is this economic interdependency of the economic system which makes the power of trade unions such an important issue. Single trade unions have the ability to cut off many countries’ economic blood supply. This can happen more easily in Britain than in some other countries, in part because the labor force is highly organized. About 55 per cent of British workers belong to unions, compared to under a quarter in the United States. For historical reasons, Britain’s unions have tended to develop along trade and occupational lines, rather than on an industry-by-industry basis, which makes a wages policy, democracy in industry and the improvement of procedure for fixing wage levels difficult to achieve. There are considerable strains and tensions in the trade union movement, some of them arising from their outdated and inefficient structure. Some unions have lost many members because of their industrial changes. Others are involved in arguments about who should represent workers in new trades. Unions for skilled trades are separate from general unions, which means that different levels of wages for certain jobs are often a source of bad feeling between unions. In traditional trades which are being pushed out of existence by advancing technologies, unions can fight for their members’ disappointing jobs to the point where the jobs of other union members are threatened or destroyed. The printing of newspapers both in the United States and in Britain has frequently been halted by the efforts of printers to hold on to their traditional highly-paid jobs. Trade unions have problems of internal communication just as managers in companies do, problems which multiply in very large unions or in those which bring workers in very different industries together into a single general union. Some trade union officials have to be re-elected regularly; others are elected, or even appointed, for life. Trade union officials have to work with a system of "shop stewards" in many unions, "shop stewards" being workers elected by other workers as their representatives at factory or works level.

A:British Trade Unions and Their Drawbacks. B:A Centralized and Concentrated Society. C:The Power of Trade Unions in Britain. D:The Structure of British Trade Unions.

multilateral trade

In the foreign trade business, the trade terms CIP is the abbreviation for ______.

A:Cost, Insurance and Freight B:Cost and Insurance C:Carriage and Insurance Paid to D:Carriage Paid to

In the foreign trade business, the trade terms FOB is the abbreviation for （）.

A:free of charge B:free on board C:freight collect D:freight and cost

In the foreign trade business, the trade terms CIP is the abbreviation for ______.

A:Cost, Insurance and Freight B:Cost and Insurance C:Carriage and Insurance Paid to D:Carriage Paid to

In the foreign trade business, the trade terms FOB is the abbreviation for ______.

A:free of charge B:free on board C:freight collect D:freight and cost