Shipping Container For Sale - Shipping Container For Sale - Shipping Container For Sale

Shipping Containers are large containers that you may have seen being transported by road, ship and rail.
This website contains information about every aspect of shipping containers and how they may be useful to you.

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Every product in the world is transported  by shipping container. The shipping container has almost single handedly created the conditions needed to build a truly global exchange of goods - the global economy.   It now costs less to ship a container between China and Felixstowe than it does to send it on the road to Scotland. More time at sea The logistics revolution began in the US on 26 April 1956, when a crane lifted 58 aluminium containers on to a converted war-surplus oil tanker at a dock in Newark, New Jersey.   Transport boss Malcom McLean had watched teams of dock workers unloading goods from trucks and transferring them to ships and came up with a more efficient way of doing things. He refitted two oil tankers and designed truck containers that could be stacked on or below their decks Malcom McLean invented container shipping Small shipping containers had been around for many years, but they had just been seen as another item of cargo. McLean's innovation was to see a whole transport systems built around containerised cargo, which could be moved seamlessly between trains, trucks and ships. "Before the container came along a typical ship might spend a week tied up at dock," says Marc Levinson, the author of a new book, The Box, which explores the history of the shipping container and its impact on the global economy. "A typical cargo ship in the 1950s might have 200,000 individual items to be loaded. "It was a hugely labour intensive business and hugely costly. What the container did was get rid of all that." New ports As port operators saw the advantages of containerisation - reduced handling costs, quicker throughput of vessels and lower levels of pilfering of cargos - they started adapting their facilities. The cost comparisons were startling. Loading loose cargo onto an average ship in 1956 cost $5.86 per US ton. Container ports could load vessels for just under 16 cents. Many dock workers went on strike at the threat to their jobs, which, together with their slowness in upgrading their facilities, only helped to push business away from traditional major port cities like New York and London to newer sites like New Jersey and Felixstowe on the UK's east coast. "Felixstowe was just a little town that hadn't had much of a port at all before but it had lots of room for containers," says Mr Levinson. "But it had a container crane, which meant that a lot of port activity that had previously been in London and Liverpool moved to Felixstowe." Key enabler The arrival of containerisation did more than just change where and how ships docked. It helped globalise the world economy. Manufacturers no longer had to crowd near to ports or customers in order to reduce their transport costs. They could source cheaper components or even outsource production overseas as lower transport costs helped extend supply chains.   CONTAINER SHIPPING Number of containers worldwide - 22 million Number of container ships worldwide - 7,936 2005 container traffic - 116 million TEUs Value of container shipping in 2005 - $6.5 trillion TEU= 20-foot equivalent unit, the standard measurement for containersSources: Drewry, CI Online Similarly, developing nations were able to become suppliers to wealthier countries on the other side of the world. "Containerisation is why a person in Northern Europe who wants to eat strawberries on Christmas day can find them in their supermarket," says John Fossey, a director at industry publication Containerisation International. "It has been a key enabler of the rapid industrialisation and globalisation we are seeing in the world today." Indeed, container shipping lines now run so efficiently that it doesn't really matter where you are sourcing products from. If you look at the transport cost per individual item, it costs about $10 to send a TV set from China to the UK, or 10 cents to deliver a bottle of wine from Australia to America. "It costs less to ship a container between China and Felixstowe than it does to then send it on the road to Scotland," says Philip Damas, research director at shipping consultancy Drewry. The rapid growth in world trade has now made ports sexy. Recent months have seen a bidding war for UK-based P&O, the world's third biggest ports operator. A container ship can now be loaded in a matter of hours Another operator, Associated British Ports, is being courted by a consortium led by investment bank Goldman Sachs. Much of the excitement in the sector is being stirred up by the huge rise in trade into and out of India and China, which will push up overall world trade levels by an estimated 7% this year. Worldwide container traffic grew by 14% in 2004 and about 11% last year, and the infrastructure is beginning to creak under the strain. "If the market continues to grow at this rate it will lead to congestion in marine terminals, shipping lanes and road and rail networks," says Mr Fossey. It is just a shame that Mr McLean isn't around anymore to come up with another brilliant solution.		On this website you will find information on; Shipping Containers 40ft Shipping Containers 20ft Shipping Containers Used Shipping Containers New Shipping Containers Cargo Containers Storage Containers   Links you may be interested in:   Shipping.UK-Directory.co.uk   Try searching Google:

More Shipping Containers information:
 

If you purchase or rent a shipping container from any of our recommended suppliers please let us know if they are maintaining their usual high standards and value for money, email; info@shipping-containers.org

There are many other companies specialising in supplying new and used ISO marine shipping containers - more commonly known as shipping containers. Shipping containers are available for sale - to buy or for you to hire in the UK - either for short term renting or long term rental and you can also arrange for shipping container conversions to be carried out. ISO marine shipping containers can be converted into offices, construction site offices, equipment stores, general stores, kitchens, washrooms, changing rooms, recording studios, accomodation units - in fact, the possibilities are endless and are only limited by your imagination.

The majority of those interested in shipping containers are generally either looking for secure storage, and for that purpose shipping containers are ideal.You may be planning to transport cargo, personal effects perhap or a car etc. If you are looking to buy or rent steel shipping containers shipping-containers.org has been specifically set-up to help you.

A great deal of research has been carried out on your behalf - which should save you time and money. Please add us to your favourites and check back with us for further developments. We aim to provide you with all the information you will ever need about shipping containers in the UK now and long into the future.

You will benefit from our extensive research and will give you access to all the information you need about steel shipping containers. We intend to include everything we can on this website. If you cannot find what you are looking for we are happy to correspond with you by email in order to offer further help to you - however we are unable to answer telephone calls at this time. Please email your shipping container enquiries to; info@shipping-containers.org

A brief history of shipping containers: The basic purpose of a container is to speed up the loading and unloading of cargo. They were first used in the 1950s. The freight forwarding industry are the single main users of ISO containers; generally there are two sizes - 20ft or 40ft ISO CSC plated marine shipping containers that are used for shipping cargo.

What are the common names used to describe ISO marine shipping containers?

Here is a list;

20ft Containers
40ft Containers
Boxes
Cargo Containers
Shipping Containers
Steel Shipping Containers
Storage Containers

You should fully consider your need for buying or renting steel shipping containers before you make your final decision about who to buy or rent shipping containers from and how many and for how much money you should spend on your new or used shipping containers.

What types of ISO marine shipping containers are available?

Here is a list;

Open-tops - as you would expect these open on the top
Half heights - non-standard size containers
Reefers - these are refrigerated containers, temperature controlled
Insulated containers - these are containers that have a reduced tendency to condensation

Cheapest is not always best, even if you believe a broken down old container costing £100 less may be worth the risk - always ensure that the container will provide you with what you need for the length of time you need it. Sale and rental of new and used steel shipping containers can be offered as short term container rentals and long term container rental. Hiring a steel shipping container static storage and secure on site storage is very common and often the perfect use for a container. 40ft containers and 20ft marine storage containers are the most common sizes. You need not pay too much for a good container and they can often be cheap or cheaper than you might imagine.

Conversion of shipping containers for new uses are very environmentally friendly, they are cost effective for office containers, work-shops, secure storage, construction site offices, laboratories, kitchens, canteens, shower blocks, toilet blocks - the list is endless. Sales of new and used 40 foot and 20 foot steel ISO shipping containers. New and used shipping containers are are generally wind and water tight. Damaged containers can be repaired and once again be in a shippable state - or cargo-worthy. Depending on your requirements you should specify to your supplier precisely how you intend to use your container - your supplier should then be able to supply you with a suitable shipping container - for shipping or for storage. The most reliable shipping containers are new containers - but they naturally cost the most money. Insulated or uninsulated? The cost goes up for insulated containers.

The delivery of containers to the loading point and on to the port of departure is an important consideration. The logistics involved can often be complex and potentially expensive. A good shiping container supplier will arrange the freight forwarding of goods to their destination. Using special equipment to transport and off-load the container - for example Hiab (or Hi-Ab) vehicles or heavy lift side loading vehicles and full size cranes or other special rquipment may be needed - the costs for these arrangements can vary widely according to your particular circumstances

Your shipping ISO container sales or ISO container hire requirements should be fully discussed with your supplier and freight forwarder.

New and used steel shipping containers for sale at an affordable price steel shipping container rentals, so you can rent the steel shipping container for as long as you require. In other words, buying your container may not be the most cost effective method to get one - consider hiring your container short-term or long-term.

New or used steel shipping containers should be of a suitable quality or standard and should be guaranteed to do the job they were designed for. Steel shipping containers can be leased, purchased or on a 'hire to buy' arrangement whether the steel storage containers are new or used.

If you cannot find the steel shipping container that you require from our recommended suppliers on this site, please complete fill the enquiry form and we will arrange for suitable hand-picked suppliers to email you with their quotes the form will request your specifications to enable us to contact the right suppliers for you.

So if you are looking for steel shipping containers, either to buy or to rent, then this website has all you need to remember - shipping-containers.org. We can offer any advice you need.

Any company or organisation we may recommend does not provide a warranty or guarantee from shipping-containers.org we are simply suggesting that you consider that company as a suitable supplier. Any business that you transact with that company has nothing whatsover to do with shipping-containers.org.General information about shipping-containers.org: This website contains useful and detailed information for anyone searching for Shipping containers, ISO marine Shipping Containers, any queries regarding shipping containers or issues around any shipping container, containers for storage or shipping - what is involved in shipping containers which are also known as boxes - these can be converted into workshops, open tops, half heights, tank containers, issues surrounding haulage, budget containers, also information for leasing or transporting by lorry for removal or removals. We cover issues around offloading, painted or painting containers - offloading is a complex procedure - we help simplify the understanding of what is involved. All prices of shipping containers are constantly monitored to ensure any advice we give is up-to-date. Containers need to be packed and we cover packaging issues here on shipping-containers.org. The process of changing a shipping container into portable site-offices, stables (or a single stable), international information about overseas containers for those moving (relocation), warehousing, all the logistics involved, how packaging has a role, the business and services surrounding shipping containers, whether for domestic, export solutions, general solution to shipping container problems particularly in the UK. We aim to offer an efficient service to everyone in the shipping containers business - for both buyers and sellers. We want to become the place you trust and will recommend us to others. All products or product that requires transporting - industrial waste where you need a quote or quotation or an estimate - you may have an estimated weight you wish to specify for moving furniture say from example - from london, essex, kent, surrey, hertfordshire, north of england, south of england, devon, cornwall, wales, scotland or ireland - we can help.In fact we can help with all worldwide ships, shipping - including ports - for example shipping a Car - who the main shippers are. All issues about bulk buying or commercial shipping container sales. Many people are also interested in information regarding custom or bespoke shipping containers - in other words a customised shipping container. What about insurance - how do you insure a container - what does roll on and roll off mean? How many doors are there on a container? Is there a single door and are the doors lockable for use as a cabin - locks are generalyy fitted but when a unit hire company supplies the shipping containers do they supply the ISO maritime shipping containers with security to protect the content - nobody wants the contents to be stolen. In all these subjects shipping-containers.org is here to assist. Any cargo container or cargo containers are valuable - even secondhand containers - in fact the majority of all containers are second hand. Second-hand is not necessarily cheapest though. Our resource is informative for anyone seeking information about shipping containers - especially in the UK. The types of containers are quite varied - we explain the difference between flat rack - flat racks - dry containers, insured containers, how to house a container properly, how cars can be shipped, are the containers watertight, waterproof or generally weatherproof. Our website is not just for the uk - the world, our approach is global. All containers should be securely locked high cube or any other types. What about baggage - all the details you need are here. All shipping containers should be wateright, waerproof and weatherproof. Text on this website is protected by copyright law - unauthorised reproduction strictly prohibited in part or in whole. shipping-containers.org

In the shipping container industry, there are a great number of  terms you should be familiar with in order to understand containers and shipping information. These relate to container dimensions, container capacity, container rating, tare mass, payloads, container tare mass, container payload, general purpose containers, dry cargo containers. reefers, refrigerated containers, tare weight, tares, container markings, container classifications, half height containers, TEU, twenty-foot equivalent unit, knots, cellular container ships, CBM, cubic measurements. container services, standard containers, hicube, high cube containers, cargo cubes, global shipping, import-export shipping, logistics, logistics management, logistics supports, shipping space, shipping order, S/O. shipping permits, shipping notes, dock receipts, master ships, mother ships, feeder vessels, transhipment, transshipment, transit shipment, dead freight, seaports, ports. freight forwarders, consolidators, freight consolidators, customs brokers, customs forwarders, brokers, customhouse brokers, customs house brokers, voyage, flight. groupage operators, shipping operators, shipping firms, shipping company, air shipping, ocean shipping, carriers, freight company, transport company, ETA, ETD, ETS. transportation, transports, ocean shipping company, freight containers, couriers, airlines, tariffs, custom tariffs, shipping dangerous goods, shipping schedules. air containers, ocean containers, shipping containers, container load, LCL, full container load, FCL, marine insurance, cargo insurance, import-export insurance. NVOCC, nonvessel operating common carriers, NVO, nonvessel owner carriers, nonvessel owning carriers, ocean freight consolidator, steamship.


Container Dimensions and Capacity

Rating, Tare Mass and Payload of Containers


Rating

Dimensions of Standard ISO Marine Shipping Containers

Rear view of 20' x 8.5' container Miscalculated capacity may result in a large empty and unusable space or a shortage in space. For example (see 20' x 8.5' container diagram on the left), the master cartons have a uniform height of 20 inches, and the length and width are greater than the height. If 1170 cubic feet is used to calculate a 20' full container load, most likely some cartons will not fit despite the empty space of about 170 cubic feet. You cannot stuff the remaining cartons into the remaining 14" high empty space.

Throughout the shipping container industry, there are a great number of  terms you should be familiar with in order to understand containers and shipping information. These relate to Container packings, export corrugated cartons, export wooden cases, export boxes, export bales, container dimensions, import-export packings, import packs. export packages, import packages, pallets, pallet orientation, palletized cargo, import-export drums, bags, wooden cases, wooden crates, shipping pallets, pallet stowing. packing orientation, package orientation, TEU, twenty-foot equivalent unit, CBM, cubic measurements, knots, cellular container ships, multimodal transport, combined transport bill of lading, through bill of lading. Forwarders, freight forwarders, consolidators, freight consolidators, customs forwarders, container classifications, box, LO/LO, lift on, lift off, ISO, ISO freight containers, International Organization for Standardization. platform, flat racks, general cargo containers, specific cargo containers, general purpose containers, dry cargo containers, closed ventilated containers, container ventilation, open top containers, thermal container, reefers, freight reefers. insulated container, refrigerated containers, heated containers, tank containers, dry bulk containers, unit load device, ULD, IATA, International Air Transport Association, air containers, ocean containers, shipping containers, container load, LCL, full container load, FCL. TEU, twenty-foot equivalent unit, knots, cellular container ships, multimodal transport, combined transport bill of lading, through bill of lading, CBM, cubic measurements. container services, standard containers, hicube, high cube containers, cargo cubes, global shipping, import-export shipping, logistics, logistics management, logistics supports, shipping space, shipping order, S/O. Shipping permits, shipping notes, dock receipts, master ships, mother ships, feeder vessels, transhipment, transshipment, transit shipment, dead freight, seaports, ports. freight forwarders, consolidators, freight consolidators, customs brokers, customs forwarders, brokers, customhouse brokers, customs house brokers, voyage, flight. groupage operators, shipping operators, shipping firms, shipping company, air shipping, ocean shipping, carriers, freight company, transport company, ETA, ETD, ETS. transportation, transports, ocean shipping company, freight containers, couriers, airlines, tariffs, custom tariffs, shipping dangerous goods, shipping schedules. air containers, ocean containers, shipping containers, container load, LCL, full container load, FCL, marine insurance, cargo insurance, import-export insurance. NVOCC, nonvessel operating common carriers, NVO, nonvessel owner carriers, nonvessel owning carriers, ocean freight consolidator, and steamship.


Containers efficient packing
Corrugated Cartons, Wooden Cases/Boxes, and Bales
The basic information on how to efficiently pack (load) the containers is being discussed here. There are several container-loading software in the market in which the exporters and shippers may use to generate the efficient way of packing (loading) the containers.

Refer to the diagram below, a regular-shaped export pack (carton) has six different possible orientations as follows:

The orientation or a combination of orientations that allows the greatest number of packs or the highest multiple of packs is the most efficient method of packing.

Referring to the method (A) of stowing the container is the export pack orientation (1) shown above, the method (B) is the orientation (4), and the method (C) is the combination of orientations (1) and (4). The product DX demands the stowage of cartons in an upright position. Other orientations cannot be used as the product could be damaged.

Further to the above case sample, assume that the product DX can be stowed in any orientation. The different multiples of carton (of the product DX) that can be packed into a 40' x 8.5' standard dry cargo container, based on the external dimension of carton

A = 18"
B = 12"
C = 12"

and the internal dimension of 40' container

D = 473"
W = 92"
H = 94"

are as follows:

Export Pack Orientation	Multiple of Carton				Total No. of Cartons
(1)		D	A	=  26	26 x 07 x 07	=  1,274
		W	B	=  7
		H	C	=  7
(2)		D	A	=  26	26 x 07 x 07	=  1,274
		H	B	=  7
		W	C	=  7
(3)		H	A	=  5	05 x 07 x 39	=  1,365
		W	B	=  7
		D	C	=  39
(4)		W	A	=  5	05 x 39 x 07	=  1,365
		D	B	=  39
		H	C	=  7
(5)		H	A	=  5	05 x 39 x 07	=  1,365
		D	B	=  39
		W	C	=  7
(6)		W	A	=  5	05 x 07 x 39	=  1,365
		H	B	=  7
		D	C	=  39

Export pack orientations (3) to (6) have the highest number of cartons, thus are the most efficient way of packing. In practice, the orientations (1), (4), and a combination of (1) and (4) are often used.

Further reading...

Container dimensions

There are five common standard lengths, 20 ft (6.1 m), 40 ft (12.2 m), 45 ft (13.7 m), 48 ft (14.6 m) and 53 ft (16.2 m). US domestic standard containers are generally 48 ft and 53 ft. Container capacity (of ships, ports, etc) is measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU, or sometimes teu). A twenty-foot equivalent unit is a measure of containerized cargo capacity equal to one standard 20 ft (length) × 8 ft (width) × 8 ft 6 in (height) container. In metric units this is 6.10 m (length) × 2.44 m (width) × 2.59 m (height), or approximately 39 m³. These sell at about $2500 in China, the biggest manufacturer. [1]. Most containers today are of the 40-ft variety and thus are 2 TEU. 45 ft containers are also designated 2 TEU. Two TEU are referred to as one forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU). These two terms of measurement are used interchangeably. "High cube" containers have a height of 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m), while half-height containers, used for heavy loads, have a height of 4 ft 3 in (1.3 m). When converting containers to TEUs, the height of the containers typically is not considered.

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History

A container ship being loaded by a portainer crane in Copenhagen Harbour

Twistlocks which capture and constrain containers. Forklifts designed to handle containers have similar devices .

A container freight train in England

Malcom McLean can reasonably claim to be the man who conceived the idea of container shipping to replace the traditional break bulk method of handling dry goods. Containers produced a huge reduction in port handling costs, contributing significantly to lower freight charges and, in turn, boosting trade flows. Almost everything humans consume spends some time in a container^{[citation needed]}.

Containerization is an important element of the logistics revolution that changed freight handling in the 20th century. McLean said he conceived of the idea of containerized shipping in the 1930s in New Jersey. Then a truck owner-operator, he explained that while sitting at a dock waiting for cotton bales to be unloaded from his truck and then reloaded onto a ship, he realized that the truck's trailer itself (with some minor modifications) could be transferred much more efficiently intact and placed on the ship with its loaded cargo. Years later, McLean founded Sea-Land Corporation and his first container ship left Port Newark for Houston, Texas on April 26, 1956, carrying 58 trailers. ^[1] See also pantechnicon van and trolley and lift van.

Containerization revolutionized cargo shipping. Today, approximately 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide moves by containers stacked on transport ships. 26% of all containers originate from China. As of 2005, some 18 million total containers make over 200 million trips per year. There are ships that can carry over 6,000 TEU, and designers are working on freighters capable of 13,000 TEU. It has even been predicted that, at some point, container ships will be constrained in size only by the Straits of Malacca, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Such a ship would be as long as one-quarter of a mile, and 190 feet wide. ^[1]

However, few initially foresaw the extent of the influence containerization would bring to the shipping industry. In the 1950s, Harvard University economist Benjamin Chinitz predicted that containerization would benefit New York by allowing it to ship industrial goods produced there more cheaply to the Southern United States than other areas, but did not anticipate that containerization might make it cheaper to import such goods from abroad. Most economic studies of containerization merely assumed that shipping companies would begin to replace older forms of transportation with containerization, but did not predict that the process of containerization itself would have some influence on producers and the extent of trading. ^[1]

The widespread use of ISO standard containers influenced modifications in other freight moving standards, gradually forcing removable truck bodies or swap bodies into the standard sizes and shapes (though without the strength needed to be stacked), and changing completely the worldwide use of freight pallets that fit into ISO containers or into commercial vehicles.

Improved cargo security is also an important benefit of containerization. The cargo is not visible to the casual viewer and thus is less likely to be stolen and the doors of the containers are generally locked (or rather "sealed") so that tampering is more evident. This has reduced the "falling off the truck" syndrome that long plagued the shipping industry.

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Effect of Development of Containerization on Status Quo

In the United States, at first, containerization grew through cracks in the rigid regulatory structure of the 1960s. But the United States' present fully integrated systems became possible only after the Interstate Commerce Commission's regulatory oversight was cut back (and later abolished in 1995), trucking and rail were deregulated in the 1970s and maritime rates were deregulated (with very little fanfare) in 1984.

In some ways, Malcom McLean's vision was nothing new. Beginning in 1929, Seatrain Lines had carried railroad boxcars on its sea vessels to transport goods between New York and Cuba. Likewise, the idea of putting truck trailers on railroad flatcars was a method of moving less-than-railroad carload shipments economically. This integrated transport concept held the hope of competing with trucks, which were taking more and more of this business from the railroads. From 1926 to 1947, the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway carried motor carrier vehicles and shippers' vehicles loaded on flatcars between Milwaukee and Chicago. In the mid-1930s, the Chicago Great Western Railway Company and then the New Haven railroad began piggy-back service limited to their own railroad. By 1953, the CB&Q, the Eastern Illinois and the Southern Pacific railroads had joined the innovation. Most cars were surplus flatcars equipped with new decks. By 1955, an additional 25 railroads had begun some form of piggy-back trainler service. What was new about McLean's innovation was the idea of using large containers that were never opened in transit between shipper and consignee and that were transferable on an intermodal basis, among trucks, ships and railcars.

Using these concepts, McLean initially favored the construction of "trailerships"-—taking trailers from large trucks and stowing them in a ship’s cargo hold. This method of stowage, referred to as roll-on/roll-off, was not adopted because of the large waste in potential cargo space onboard the vessel, known as broken stowage. Instead, he modified his original concept into loading just the containers, not the chassis, onto the ships, hence the designation container ship or "box" ship.

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Double-Stack Containerization

The advent of "double-stacked" container transport has changed the entire intermodal freight distribution industry in North America. It has resulted in more cost-effective, secure and reliable freight shipments, and provided domestic intermodal rail capacity that could not otherwise have been possible.

The double-stack rail car's unique design also significantly reduced damage in transit, and provided greater cargo security by cradling the lower containers so their doors cannot be opened. A succession of large, new domestic container sizes was introduced to further enhance shipping productivity for customers.

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Origins of Double-Stack

As early as the 1970s, doublestack designs and equipment were introduced, but the cars were heavy and uneconomical to operate.

While always deflecting credit to the many contributors who enabled the introduction of Stacktrain rail service, Pacer International's chief executive officer Donald Orris is widely considered the "Father of Stacktrain Service." He earned that moniker for his role in the early 1980s, as the head of APL's intermodal department, in sponsoring the development and implementation of lightweight, fuel-efficient equipment and the first successful operating network.

With Orris' system, launched in 1984, container trains were finally able to break cost, capacity and service barriers by using specially engineered rail cars that could carry two tiers of containers instead of one -- significantly reducing the locomotive power, track capacity and train crews required by conventional intermodal trains to move a comparable payload.

In 1999, Pacer International acquired the original double-stack network that Orris and his colleagues had helped develop and named it "Pacer Stacktrain." Pacer remains the largest wholesale provider of double-stack rail service in North America. (see current double-stack equipment, photo immediately above.)

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Impact on Transportation

For freight intermediaries -- the intermodal marketing companies, ocean carriers, and other third parties that market end-to-end transportation services to businesses that ship product worldwide -- introduction of double-stack changed their business. It was more cost-effective than basic container-on-flat car, piggyback or truck for cross-country moves; also, it significantly reduced cargo damage and claims, helping the intermediaries better sell intermodal services to skeptical prospects.

Pacer Stacktrain now (2006) carries more than one million containers per year and purchases over $1 billion of rail transportation annually. The company accounts for more than 20 percent of all domestic container moves in North America. Overall, the double-stack market has grown more than 100-fold since 1984, and now accounts for about 70 percent of intermodal shipments.

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Container types

• Dry Van (standard height)
• Dry Van ("high cube")
• Dry Van (half-height)
• Open-Top
• Open-Side

A railroad car with container loads.

• Side-Door
• Refrigerated
• Auto Rack
• Flat Rack
• Flatbed (platform)
• Bulktainers (for dry goods)
• Tanks (for liquid goods)
• Gas Bottle
• Generator
• Collapsible ISO
• Swapbody

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Biggest container companies

Top 12 container transportation and shipping companies (listed in order of number of ships & twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU))
01 May 2005
Company	Number of ships	Company	TEU
Maersk Line incl. Safmarine	387	Maersk Line incl. Safmarine	1,036,582
Mediterranean	257	Mediterranean	681,334
CMA CGM	185	P&O Nedlloyd *	460,203
P&O Nedlloyd *	162	Evergreen	439,538
Evergreen	153	CMA CGM	412,007
COSCO	118	APL	315,879
China Shipping C.L. (CSCL)	111	Hanjin-Senator	298,173
NYK Line	105	China Shipping C.L. (CSCL)	290,089
APL	99	COSCO	289,800
Pacific International Lines	97	NYK Line	281,722
Zim Integrated Shipping Services	93	OOCL	237,318
CSAV Group	83	CSAV Group	215,992

^{(SOURCE: BRS-Alphaliner)}

* Maersk acquired P & O Nedlloyd (13 August 2005), the new combined entity will be called "Maersk Line" starting February 2006.

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Other container systems

• Haus-zu-Haus (Germany)
• RACE containers (Australia)

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Containers used for housing and other architecture

Main article: Shipping Container Architecture

The Nomadic Museum is a building composed of 156 shipping containers.

In North America, containers are in many ways an ideal building material, because they are strong, durable, stackable, cuttable, movable, modular, plentiful and relatively cheap. It is not surprising then that architects as well as laypeople have utilized them to build homes, offices, apartments, schools, dormitories, artists' studios, emergency shelters and many other uses. They are also used to provide temporary secure spaces on construction sites and other venues on "as is" basis instead of building shelters.

During the 1991 Gulf War ("Desert Storm") containers saw considerable nonstandard uses, not only as makeshift shelters but also for the transportation of Iraqi prisoners of war. Holes were cut in the containers to allow for ventilation and there were no reported ill effects from this method. Containers continue to be used for military shelters, often additionally fortified by adding sandbags to the side walls to protect against weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades ("RPGs").

The abundance and relative cheapness during the last decade comes from the deficit in manufactured goods coming from North America in the last two decades. These manufactured goods come to North America from Asia and, to a lesser extent, Europe, in containers that often have to be shipped back empty ("deadhead"), at considerable expense. It is all too often cheaper to buy new containers in China and elsewhere in Asia, and to try to find new applications for the used containers that have reached their North American cargo destination.

In fiction

The containerization system, containers, tracking of containers and moving of containers are extensively made use of in the HBO television series The Wire.

Notes and references

1. ^ ^a b c Levinson, Marc (Mar. 13, 2006). "The Box That Changed Asia and the World", pp. 31–40. Forbes.

Other references

• Marc Levinson, The Box, How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger (Princeton Univ. Press 2006).
• Brian J. Cudahy, Box Boats: How Container Ships Changed the World (Fordham Univ. Press (2006).
• Frank Broeze, "The Globalisation of the Oceans: Containerisation from the 1950s to the Present," International Maritime Economic History Association, 2002.
• Alexander Jung for Der Spiegel (2005). "The Box That Makes the World Go Round". Retrieved November 26, 2005

See also

• Containerlift
• Portainer cranes
• Semi-trailer
• ULD
• bulk cargo
• Container numbering
• Intermodal freight transport
• Container ship
• RORO