Shipping Containers: Types and Uses

Shipping containers are strong enough to withstand handling, transportation, and storage. Their type ranges from ubiquitous corrugated boxes to intermodal hauling in steel boxes. Intermodal ones are designed to be carried from one mode to another without loading or loading the cargo. Depending on the size, containers can easily fit a car or several.

• International container shipping costs range from $1,500–$5,000 for a 20-foot unit and $2,500–$8,000 for a 40-foot unit, depending on route and cargo type.
• Standard ocean container transit runs 2–6 weeks depending on origin port, destination, and whether the shipment moves as FCL or LCL freight.
• Intermodal containers must comply with ISO 668 standards and carrier-specific weight limits; overloaded or improperly declared containers face customs holds and surcharges.

Types of Containers

• Intermodal containers: Freight containers are reusable storage units that carry raw materials, vehicles, and various products between countries or 2 locations. There are approximately 17 million intermodal ones around the globe. They are used on most long-distance routes for international trade.

Millions of containers have been abandoned due to the high cost of retrieving them from their ports of origin. Commercial globalization in the second half of the twentieth century was mainly due to the invention of containers, as their utilization reduced the total cost of moving over long distances.

Among the special ones are high bins, open tops, temperature-controlled containers, tunnel-trainers or double doors, and pallet wades. A portable oil or fuel container is called a transtainer. Hybrid bulk fuel tanks were initially used in construction, logging, farming, and mining. The fuel tank stores and has dangerous liquids and bulk fuel by sea, rail, and road.

• Corrugated boxes: These are seldom used as moving ones(for more than ninety percent of transport), but corrugated boxes can be recycled. They’re made from lightweight material with enough strength to carry various corrugated fiberboard products.

• Crates: A container of enormous proportions, usually constructed from wood, is called a crate. It is used to move heavy, awkward, or large items. Even without sheathing, crates have a structure that supports itself. There are crate versions made of reusable plastic, like sustainers that carry tools and euro containers.

• Flight and transit cases: Transit and flight cases are specially designed for carrying and moving fragile equipment: cameras, instruments, audio-visual, etc. Even with light construction, these cases have reinforced corners and edges.

• Intermediate containers: Intermediate bulk are multi-purpose ones used in general for storing, handling, and transporting bulk materials and fluids. IBCs are resistant and compatible with various caustic chemicals, acids, food-grade consumable parts, and inert materials. IBC receptacles are made of plastic, a composite of steel and plastic, stainless steel, or carbon steel. Some IBC models are collapsible, which helps save space upon further usage.

• Bulk boxes: Bulk boxes are pallet-sized bins that store and haul bulk goods.

• Drums: A cylindrical drum is made of fiber, plastic, or steel and commonly used for moving particulate materials and liquid.

• Insulated containers: An insulated one is used to move products sensitive to temperature (such as medicine, chemicals, and food). Their usage in the cold chain helps maintain products' efficacy and freshness.

• Pails: Sometimes, pails play the role.

• Unit load devices: ULDs are containers used to move cargo on a commercial aircraft. A unit load device can be a container or pallet used in freight, mail, and luggage loading on both wide-body and narrow-body aircraft. It allows people to bundle a lot of goods into one unit. Considering that this can reduce the number of loaded units, it can save the energy and time of ground staff and even prevent flight delays. Each ULD has a personalized manifest, tracking identification, or packing list to improve the tracking and control of the contents.

• Flexible intermediate bulk containers: FIBCs are large-sized standard ones used for hauling and storing granular products. They are usually made of woven synthetic material.

• Specialized containers: Aviation components, weapons, and scientific instruments are carried in specialized ones. Elements like customized carrying handles, cushioning, locks, bracing and blocking, lift rings, etc. are usually added to protect the cargo and facilitate handling. Generally, custom ones can be used for multiple transports. European haulers use international fruit containers to move vegetables, fish, and fruits.

• Road cases: Theater props and musical instruments are often hauled in road cases.

• Wooden boxes: Dense and heavy products are often moved in wooden boxes. Sometimes, they are even specified for moving military or government property.

Recycling

The relative cheapness and extensive supply of used intermodal ones made architects consider them an alternative to conventional building materials. Second-hand containers have started being used in housing and as office and retail spaces. Some have been turned into temporary hospital intensive-care units during the Coronavirus pandemic.

However, it has been concluded that recycling these is problematic, as they are not as cheap or eco-friendly as they might seem. The crates may be coated with phosphorus, lead-based paint, chromate, or other harmful chemicals, while the wooden floors might be treated with dangerous pesticides. Others have identified issues with insulation, space constraints, and the fragility of the structure if too much steel gets cut from them.

Containers are utilized in the television and film industry as temporary sets. Moving can be used as support for large-scale film sets when they form a reinforced scaffold by getting stacked on top of each other.