At 5:30 am on August 3rd, the street lights in the logistics center of Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone were still on. Four silver-gray Scania container trucks had already stopped at the 3rd loading area, and the fixed brackets in the cargo compartments were already adjusted in place - the 150 tons of aluminum-magnesium-manganese plates to be loaded today would board a ship from Tianjin Port and cross the Indian Ocean to the photovoltaic power station project site in Perth, Australia.
"These are 3003 series aluminum-magnesium-manganese plates, with a thickness of 1.2mm. The PVDF coating required by the customer must be able to withstand the strong ultraviolet rays in Australia." The warehouse supervisor, standing on a ladder, used a caliper to measure the side of the top roll. The palms of his anti-slip gloves had already worn out rough edges. On the adjacent quality inspection record sheet, the weather resistance test data was particularly prominent: after 3000 hours of xenon lamp aging test, the coating gloss retention rate reached 85%, fully meeting the AS/NZS 3715 standard. Each roll of the plates had an orange label attached, with specifications, batches and QR codes marked in both Chinese and English. Scanning the label would reveal the entire traceability information from melting to rolling.
At 6:15 am, the first 20-ton forklift started. The driver adjusted the angle of the cargo fork and carefully inserted the core of the roll into the wooden bracket beneath. "This thing looks light, but each roll weighs over 4 tons. The fork teeth must be fully inserted into the groove of the bracket, otherwise it's prone to slipping." He stared at the display screen in the driver's cabin, slowly raising the cargo fork to a height of 1.8 meters, and then moving it to the side of the truck. Before that, two workers had already held wooden pads ready. As the plates steadily landed in the center of the truck, they quickly inserted 4 rubber buffer pads into the gap between the roll and the truck body, and then used galvanized steel straps to pass through the roll core and firmly fixed it to the hooks on both sides of the truck.
At 9:03 am, the last roll of aluminum-magnesium-manganese plates was loaded. The order coordinator crouched on the ground, using a mobile phone to take close-up shots of each container seal. The number "TJ23110308" in the shot was clearly visible. In her folder, the originality certificate from the Australian customs, the fumigation certificate, and the component analysis report were arranged in order, with an English-labeled loading diagram on top, detailing the position and fixation method of each roll of plates. "The customer specifically emphasized the need to comply with Australia's loading specifications, fearing that the coating might be worn off due to sea turbulence." The order coordinator said as she clicked "Loaded" in the cross-border logistics system, and the system immediately sent an advance shipment notice to the customer in Melbourne.
At 10:00 am, the driver of the first truck tore off the seal on the door, and the blue logo of "COSCO Shipping Logistics" on the vehicle body shone in the morning light. The plastic-sealed route map was pasted on the door, with a red pen marking the 27-kilometer route from the free trade zone to Tianjin Port, and beside it was written "Must arrive at the port before 11 am, and customs declaration deadline is 13 am". As the driver turned the steering wheel, the slogan on the wall of the logistics center reflected in the rearview mirror: "Quality wins the world, connectivity reaches everywhere".
When the four trucks left one after another, a pale yellowish tint appeared in the sky. In the distance, the Tianjin Port dock, the outline of the huge ships was already clearly visible. The cross-border journey of the 150 tons of aluminum-magnesium-manganese plates was slowly unfolding with the rotation of the wheels.
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