Shipping cars could be more efficient and less costly thanks to new software that automates the task of finding the optimal placement of cars in a shipping container.

Working with Trans-Rak International (TRI), Piero Filippin, innovation manager at the Warwick Manufacturing Group, has created a program that generates recommendations on the potential locations of any number of cars, of different makes and models, to allow them to be stored in the most efficient combinations possible. The software can double the vehicle-shipping capacity, from two per container to four, according to the companies.

The software could help double the vehicle-shipping capacity, from two per container to four. Image credit: Trans-Rak International. “The new system is a great example of how digital technologies can provide added value to manufacturing and will help those involved in vehicle transportation to reduce costs,” says Filippin.

Users select the number of cars, as well as which makes and models they wish to transport. A numerical process simulates hundreds of thousands of different loading scenarios and generates a report of the most efficient combination of cars in each container, as well as their exact positioning. The software, developed for TRI, replaces the manual-based processes previously used for placing cars.

The racking hardware, developed at TRI, comprises removable, metal components that come together to form a variable-dimension frame with which cars can be lifted up inside a container, allowing other cars to be positioned efficiently underneath the lifted cars.