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Containerisation, and imperial and metric sizes dimensions

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About containerisation

Containerisation is a system of intermodal freight transport cargo transport using standard ISO containers (known as shipping containers or isotainers) that can be loaded and sealed intact onto container ships, railroad cars, aircraft, and trucks. Containerisation also refers to determining the best carton, box or pallet to be used to ship a single item or number of items.

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ISO container dimensions and payloads

Containers are available in common standard lengths of 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 and 53-ft (rail and truck). Container capacity is measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU, or sometimes teu). An equivalent unit is a measure of containerised cargo capacity equal to one standard 20 ft (length) × 8 ft (width) × 9 ft in (height) container. In metric units this is 6.10 m (length) × 2.44 m (width) × 2.59 m (height), or approximately 38.5 m³. These sell at about US$2,500 in China, the biggest manufacturer.

Most containers are 40-ft (12.2 m) long and are known as 40-foot containers. This is equivalent to 2 TEU. However, 45-foot (13.7 m) containers are also designated as 2 TEU. Two TEU are equivalent to one forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU). High cube containers are 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) high, while half-height containers, used for heavy loads, have are 4 ft 3 in (1.3 m) high. When converting containers to TEUs, the height of the containers typically is not considered.

Imperial measurements (also still used in United Kingdom) are still used to describe container size (TEU, FEU) although most of the world uses the metric system. This is because United States shipping companies contributed considerably to the development of containers. The overwhelming need to have a standard size for containers, so that they fit all ships, cranes, and trucks, and the length of time that the current container sizes have been in use, makes changing to an even metric size impractical.

The maximum gross mass for a 20-ft dry cargo container is 24,000 kg, and for a 40-ft container (inc. 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 there reduced to approx. 21,600 kg for 20-ft, and 26,500 kg for 40-ft containers.

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Standard containers

The 20 foot container is the most common container worldwide, but the 40 foot container is increasingly replacing it, particularly since costs tend to be per container and not per foot. The longer container types are also becoming more common, and are especially common in North America. Shorter containers, e.g. 10 foot containers, also exist, but are rarely used.

The following table shows the weights and dimensions of the three most common types of containers worldwide. The weights and dimensions quoted below are averages. Different manufacture series of the same type of container may slightly vary in actual size and weight.

		20′ container		40′ container		45′ high-cube container
		imperial	metric	imperial	metric	imperial	metric
external dimensions	length	20′ 4″	6.198 m	40′ 0″	12.192 m	45′ 0″	13.716 m
	width	8′ 0″	2.438 m	8′ 0″	2.438 m	8′ 0″	2.438 m
	height	8′ 6″	2.591 m	8′ 6″	2.591 m	9′ 6″	2.896 m
interior dimensions	length	19′ 4 13/16″	5.898 m	39′ 5 45/64″	12.032 m	44′ 4″	13.556 m
	width	7′ 8 19/32″	2.352 m	7′ 8 19/32″	2.352 m	7′ 8 19/32″	2.352 m
	height	7′ 9 57/64″	2.385 m	7′ 9 57/64″	2.385 m	8′ 9 15/16″	2.698 m
door aperture	width	7′ 8 1/8″	2.343 m	7′ 8 1/8″	2.343 m	7′ 8 1/8″	2.343 m
	height	7′ 5 3/4″	2.280 m	7′ 5 3/4″	2.280 m	8′ 5 49/64″	2.585 m
volume		1,169 ft³	33.1 m³	2,385 ft³	67.5 m³	3,040 ft³	86.1 m³
maximum gross mass		52,910 lb	24,000 kg	67,200 lb	30,480 kg	67,200 lb	30,480 kg
empty weight		5,140 lb	2,330 kg	8,820 lb	4,000 kg	10,580 lb	4,800 kg
net load		47,770 lb	21,670 kg	58,380 lb	26,480 kg	56,620 lb	25,680 kg

There are 20' heavy tested containers available for heavy goods (e.g. heavy machinery). These allow a maximum weight of 67,200 lb (30,480 kg), an empty weight of 5,290 lb (2,400 kg) and a net load of 61,910 lb (28,080 kg).

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ISO container types

There are various container types available and Interfreight selects from these in tailoring a suitable freight solution to suit a client’s unique needs. The range of containers includes:

• The general purpose dry van for boxes, cartons, cases, sacks, bales, pallets, drums in standard, high or half height
• High cube pallet-wide containers for euro pallet compatibility
• Temperature controlled from −25 °C to +25 °C reefer (refrigerated container used in intermodal freight transport for transportation of temperature sensitive cargo)
• Open-top bulktainers for bulk minerals, heavy machinery
• Open side for loading oversize pallet
• Flush-folding flat-rack containers for heavy and bulky semi-finished goods, out of gauge cargo
• Platform or bolster for barrels and drums, crates, cable drums, out of gauge cargo, machinery, and processed timber
• Ventilated containers for organic products requiring ventilation
• Tank containers for bulk liquids and dangerous goods
• Rolling floor for difficult-to-handle cargo
• Gas cylinder
• Generator
• Collapsible ISO
• Swapbody

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Biggest ISO container companies

Top 10 container shipping companies in order of TEU capacity, first January 2006
Company	TEU capacity	Market Share	Number of ships
A.P. Moller-Maersk Group	1,665,272	18.2%	549
Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A.	865,890	8.6%	299
CMA CGM	507,954	5.6%	256
Evergreen Marine Corporation	477,911	5.2%	153
Hapag-Lloyd	412,344	4.5%	140
China Shipping Container Lines	346,493	3.8%	111
American President Lines	331,437	3.6%	99
Hanjin-Senator	328,794	3.6%	145
COSCO	322,326	3.5%	118
NYK Line	302,213	3.3%	105

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

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