Transporting project cargo requires local experts with good problem-solving skills and C.H. Robinson Project Logistics were recently put to the test when transporting wind turbine equipment.

"The wind turbine equipment need transporting from Galesburg in Illinois to Wheeler in Michigan and while hauling large shipments is nothing new for us, this specific route between the origin and destination had multiple obstacles which our the team had to work around. We put a plan in place to manage permit restrictions and to circumvent construction issues on the highways through Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

Because of road construction, a width restriction in Indiana made it impossible to transport the oversized cargo through the state (the largest piece was 103'8" x 14'1" x 11'2". Our project logistics experts knew they had to think outside the box to manage this limitation. We already knew of a ferry service that crossed Lake Michigan from Manitowoc in Wisconsin to Ludington in Michigan, so our team of experts surveyed the ferry, named 'Badger'. We had to ensure the loading and offloading ramps could accommodate the cargo and we had to plan the entrance and exit strategy into the pier. In addition to the logistics of the transport, timing and availability were also important considerations. C.H. Robinson acted as an extension of our customer's team and worked closely with the ferry company to book the space and meet the schedules during peak time. The ferry was able to accommodate one piece of cargo per day and only during night sailings."

"This innovative ferry solution allowed us to avoid multiple routing issues in various states and offered a more favourable route to the final project site."

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