Category: Storage Containers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermodal_freight_shipping_container

An intermodal container or freight container (commonly shipping container) is a reusable transport and storage unit for moving products and raw materials between locations or countries; the terms container or box may be used on their own within the context of shipping. Containers manufactured to ISO specifications may be referred to as ISO containers and the term high-cube container is used for units that are taller than normal. There are approximately seventeen million intermodal containers in the world and a large proportion of the world’s long distance freight generated by international trade is transported inside shipping containers (as opposed to break bulk cargo).

The containerization system developed from a design of an 8-foot (2.438 m) cube units used by the United States’ military and later standardised by extension to 10-foot (3.05 m), 20-foot (6.10 m), and 40-foot (12.19 m) lengths. Longer, higher and wider variants are now in general use in various places.

Container variants are available for many different cargo types. Non-container methods of transport include bulk cargo, break bulk cargo and tankers/oil tankers used for liquids. For air freight the alternative and lighter IATA defined Unit Load Device is used.

A typical container has doors fitted at one end, and is constructed of corrugated weathering steel. Containers were originally 8 feet (2.44 m) wide by 8 feet (2.44 m) high, and either a nominal 20 feet (6.10 m) or 40 feet (12.19 m) long. They could be stacked up to seven units high.

Taller units have been introduced, including ‘hi-cube’ or ‘high-cube’ units at 9 feet 6 inches (2.90 m) and 10 feet 6 inches (3.20 m) high.

The United States often uses longer units at 48 ft (14.63 m) and 53 ft (16.15 m). Some rare European containers are often about 2 inches wider at 2.5 m (8 ft 2.4 in) to accommodate Euro-pallets. Australian RACE containers are also slightly wider to accommodate Australia Standard Pallets.

Lighter swap body units use the same mounting fixings as Intermodal containers, but have folding legs under their frame so that they can be moved between trucks without using a crane.

Each container is allocated a standardized ISO 6346 reporting mark (ownership code), four characters long ending in either U, J or Z, followed by six numbers and a check digit.

Container capacity is often expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU, or sometimes teu). An equivalent unit is a measure of containerized cargo capacity equal to one standard 20 ft (length) × 8 ft (width) container. As this is an approximate measure, the height of the box is not considered; for example, the 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) high cube and the 4-foot-3-inch (1.30 m) half height 20-foot (6.10 m) containers are also called one TEU. Similarly, the 45 ft (13.72 m) containers are also commonly designated as two TEU, although they are 45 and not 40 feet (12.19 m) long. Two TEU are equivalent to one forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU).

Variations on the standard container exist for use with different cargoes including Refrigerated container units for perishable goods, tanks in a frame for bulk liquids, open top units for top loading and collapsable versions. Containerised coal carriers, and ‘bin-liners’ (containers designed for the efficient road/rail transportation of rubbish from cities to recycling and dump sites) are used in Europe.

Container types:
* Collapsible ISO
* Flushfolding flat-rack containers for heavy and bulky semi-finished goods, out of gauge cargo
* Gas bottle
* Generator
* General purpose dry van for boxes, cartons, cases, sacks, bales, pallets, drums in standard, high or half height
* High cube palletwide containers for europallet compatibility
* Insulated shipping container
* Refrigerated containers for perishable goods
* Open top bulktainers for bulk minerals, heavy machinery
* Open side for loading oversize pallet
* Platform or bolster for barrels and drums, crates, cable drums, out of gauge cargo, machinery, and processed timber
* Rolling floor for difficult to handle cargo
* Swapbody
* Tank containers for bulk liquids and dangerous goods
* Ventilated containers for organic products requiring ventilation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-foot_equivalent_unit

The twenty-foot equivalent unit (often TEU or teu) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals. It is based on the volume of a 20-foot long intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box which can be easily transferred between different modes of transportation, such as ships, trains and trucks.

One TEU represents the cargo capacity of a standard intermodal container, 20 feet (6.1 m) long and 8 feet (2.4 m) wide. There is a lack of standardisation in regards to height, ranging between 4.25 and 9.5 feet (1.30 and 2.9 m), with the most common height being 8.5 feet (2.6 m). Also, it is common to designate 45-foot (14 m) containers as 2 TEU, rather than 2.25 TEU.

Equivalence

As noted above, the TEU is an inexact unit, and hence cannot be converted precisely into other units. The related unit forty-foot equivalent unit (often FEU or feu) however is defined as two TEU. The most common dimensions for a 20-foot (6.1 m) container are 20 feet (6.1 m) long, 8 feet (2.4 m) wide, and 8.5 feet (2.6 m) high, for a volume of 1,360 cubic feet (39 m3). However, both 9.5 feet (2.9 m) tall High cube and 4.25 feet (1.30 m) half height containers are also reckoned as 1 TEU. This gives a volume range of 680 cubic feet (19 m3) to 1,520 cubic feet (43 m3) for one TEU.

While the TEU is not itself a measure of mass, some conclusions can be drawn about the maximum mass that a TEU can represent. The maximum gross mass for a 20-foot (6.1 m) dry cargo container is 24,000 kilograms (53,000 lb). Subtracting the tare mass of the container itself, the maximum amount of cargo per TEU is reduced to approximately 21,600 kilograms (48,000 lb).

Similarly, the maximum gross mass for a 40-foot (12 m) dry cargo container (including the 9.5 feet (2.9 m) high cube container) is 30,480 kilograms (67,200 lb). After correcting for tare weight, this gives a cargo capacity of 26,500 kilograms (58,000 lb).

Twenty-foot, “heavy tested” containers are available for heavy goods such as heavy machinery. These containers allow a maximum weight of 67,200 pounds (30,500 kg), an empty weight of 5,290 pounds (2,400 kg), and a net load of 61,910 pounds (28,080 kg).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Containerization

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). United States domestic standard containers are generally 48 ft (15 m) and 53-ft (rail and truck). Container capacity is often expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU, or sometimes teu). An equivalent unit is a measure of containerized cargo capacity equal to one standard 20 ft (length) × 8 ft (width) container. As this is an approximate measure, the height of the box is not considered, for instance the 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) High cube and the 4-ft 3-in (1.3 m) half height 20 ft (6.1 m) containers are also called one TEU.

The maximum gross mass for a 20 ft (6.1 m) dry cargo container is 24,000 kg, and for a 40-ft (including the 2.87 m (9 ft 6 in) high cube container), it is 30,480 kg. Allowing for the tare mass of the container, the maximum payload mass is therefore reduced to approximately 22,000 kg for 20 ft (6.1 m), and 27,000 kg for 40 ft (12 m) containers.

The original choice of 8 foot height for ISO containers was made in part to suit a large proportion of railway tunnels, though some had to be deepened. With the arrival of even taller containers, further enlargement is proving necessary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadrailer

In railroad terminology a Roadrailer or RoadRailer is a highway trailer, or semi-trailer, that is specially-equipped for use in railroad intermodal service.

The advantage of using roadrailers is that due to their construction, the trailers can be pulled directly behind other freight (or even passenger) equipment without the use of trailer flatcars.

Roadrailers first appeared on American railroads in the 1950s. The trailers were built with integrated railroad wheelsets that could be lowered into position when the trailer was pulled behind a train. More modern roadrailers do not include integrated railroad wheels, but ride on specially-manufactured bogies that do double-duty, serving as articulation points between multiple trailers in a train. Each truck is equipped with two fifth wheels and at one end (or both ends) of a convoy there is an adaptor truck equipped with one fifth wheel and one regular AAR Type “E” or Type “F” automatic coupler. Each semi-trailer has one king pin at each end. Because the bogie is significantly lighter than a rail flatcar or well-car, roadrailer freight trains are much lighter and therefore are more energy efficient than traditional intermodal trains.

RoadRailers were built by the Bi-Modal Corporations in the early 1980’s located in West Chester Pennsylvania. The trailiers were built by the Budd Corporation locally with the integration of the wheelsets and railroad braking system done at the nearby Bi-Modal factory. This was a modern up-date of C&O’s Railvan used in the 1950’s. The railroad wheelsets attached to the aft portion of the trailer were lowed pneumatically by activating a simple valve controller on the left rear of the trailer. To transfer from highway mode to rail mode the trailer driver would position the trailer over tracks inlayed into a paved rail yard. First the operator would activate the valve to remove the air from the airbags that supported the trailer in the highway mode. In the fully lowered or squat position, hooks which held the railwheel set up above the road surface released. Then the operator would move the valve to inflate the two large airbags used for rail mode. These rail air bags were similar to those used in passenger rail cars at this time. After being fully transferred, the trailer would be fully level and ready for connection to the next trailer in the train.

Throughout the early 1980’s various railroads experimented with the RoadRailer concept to determine if the equipment would be durable enough to endure railroad use. The positive attributes of the RoadRailer were its exceptionally smooth ride, light weight and low capital costs to set-up a rail yard. Since no flatcars were involved, no crane systems were needed to transfer the trailers between modes. In fact during one demonstration test a train of RoadRailers was broken down in the middle of an industrial street in Portland Oregon which happened to have track in the street demonstrating the flexibility of the system. Another note was that a RoadRailer train did not have a caboose car which at the time was still required for freight trains. A simple box was designed with a yellow strobe light designed to be installed in the unused coupler of the last car. Later, as cabooses were phased out, railroads today use a similar strobe to mark the end of the train.

In 1982, Conrail operated a route between (Railports) Buffalo, Rochester and Highbridge New York in the Bronx called the Empire State Xpress operated by Bi-Modal subsidiary Road-Rail Transportation Company. The concept was to offer customers rapid freight service that would be competitive with traditional over the road service. Dedicated trains left Buffalo and Highbridge each evening arriving early the next morning. The line was eventually shut down after never establishing enough key customers to utilize the service.

The primary reason that the original RoadRailer concept did not catch on was the weight penalty imposed on the trailers because of the attached railroad wheelset. This was resolved in later designs which removed the integrated wheelset by having a dedicated rail bogie assembly that stayed in the rail yard as seen today.

by Craig Ellyard

ISO shipping containers are a major innovation in the movement of cargo both inland and overseas. The term ‘ISO’ means ‘International Standards Organization’ and sets the standard for the movement of freight worldwide.

It is essential that shipping containers meet the exacting standards set by the ISO because of the large volume and different types of product they carry. And, not only do they need to be able to bear extremely heavy loads they also must be sound enough to be stacked when being shipped. And, of course, they need to stand up to extremely harsh conditions such as when being transported in rough seas as well as being rust resistant for when they are being transported on heavily salted roads during the winter months.

In order to be cargo worthy most shipping containers are CSC plated. They come in various sizes, usually between 20 and 45 feet in length, though some can be anything up to 100 foot long. There are also varying types of container, such as Steel Dry, Hi-Cube Steel Dry, Open Top and Flat Rack. The type of container to be used will depend on the cargo and the conditions under which it will be carried. The container service provider will also be able to give advice on the best type of unit to be used.

The design of shipping containers depends on how they are to be transported. The larger ones, which are usually constructed from lighter materials, are used mainly for inland – road and rail transportation and are weather proofed – resistant to wind and rain.

As well as being useful for the mass transportation of cargo by road, rail and sea, shipping containers can also be transported by air, though the various air freight lines often produce their own containers, specifically designed for their aircraft.

The mass use of shipping containers has revolutionised the movement of goods worldwide.. A survey of American ports as early as 1998 showed that moving goods in bulk using shipping containers speeded up the operation by up to 2,000 per cent. Not only does does this mean that the product will reach the customer much more quickly, it also saves heavily on transportation and labour costs, leading to the prospect of cheaper prices for the consumer, and bigger profits for the manufacturer.

The usage of ISO shipping containers is an economical, safe and efficient way to transport goods anywhere in the world, hence their ever increasing popularity in carrying products from the factory to the consumer.

Great Lakes shipping container services offers a range of standard and specialist ISO equipment to provide innovative and creative purchase and lease international cargo solutions

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