A brief history of the intermodal shipping container
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes.
The basic idea of the shipping container was first devised in the United States during the Second World War when cargo was placed on wooden pallets and then loaded by crane into ships.
Timeline
1930’s
First mobile lorry (truck) mounted cargo boxes used for transporting food by local meat butcher Thoburn Brown.
US coast-to-coast refrigerated transportation needs, brings ‘The Thermo King’ container to market by Harry Werner.
Adaption for use to transport agricultural produce by entrepreneur Harry Werner.
1940’s
US Army creates standardised 8ft steel containers to be loaded onto ships and trucks for various theatres of battle around the world.
Shipping giant, Ocean Van Lines (OVL) purchase containers for commercial usage in order to transport military supplies to Alaska for the Cold War.
1950’s
Lack of national infrastructure in the US meant that specialised facilities for dockyards, truck chassis and cranes for handling containers stifles the up-take of use of commercial container usage.
In 1956 the first container ship is launched called the Ideal X operating on the East Coast.
Truck giant, Malcolm McLean sells his business and enters into the newly emerging shipping container industry, with a company called Sea-Land.
1960’s
Transatlantic operations started by Sea-Land.
1970′s
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) for shipping containers is approved with the introduction of ISO 668.
ISO Standards for Shipping Containers
ISO 668 – Series 1 freight containers – classification of external dimensions and ratings [Amd 1988]
ISO 1161 – Series 1 freight containers – corner fittings specification
ISO 1496-1 – Series 1 freight containers – specification and testing
ISO 1894 – General purpose series 1 freight containers – minimum internal dimensions [2nd 1979]
ISO 6346 – Freight containers – coding, identification and marking [1995]
Other international standards
ASTM D5728-00 Standard Practices for Securement of Cargo in Intermodal and Unimodal Surface Transport
ISO 9897:1997 Freight containers – Container equipment data exchange (CEDEX) – General communication codes
ISO 14829:2002 Freight containers – Straddle carriers for freight container handling – Calculation of stability
ISO 17363:2007 Supply chain applications of RFID – Freight containers
ISO 18185-2:2007 Freight containers – Electronic seals
ISO/TS 10891:2009 Freight containers – Radio frequency identification (RFID) – Licence plate tag
Types of container
Collapsible ISO
Flush folding 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 and pallets
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
Rolling floor for difficult to handle cargo
Swapbody
Tank containers for bulk liquids and dangerous goods
Ventilated containers for organic products requiring ventilation
Works Cited
Coast Guard Port Security & Captain of the Port Operations:. (2008, 7 24). Retrieved April 10, 2010, from U.S. Coast Guard : http://www.uscg.mil/History/uscghist/Port_Security_Photos_1.asp
Kotnik, J. (2009). Architecture de Containers. Barcelone : Link Books.
MediaWiki. (2010). Intermodal containers. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermodal_container
Sawyers, P. (2008). Intermodal Shipping Container Small Steel Buildings. Paul Sawyers.
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About Containers
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A brief history of the intermodal shipping container
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes.
The basic idea of the shipping container was first devised in the United States during the Second World War when cargo was placed on wooden pallets and then loaded by crane into ships.
Timeline
1930’s
1940’s
1950’s
1960’s
1970′s
ISO Standards for Shipping Containers
Other international standards
Types of container
Works Cited
Coast Guard Port Security & Captain of the Port Operations:. (2008, 7 24). Retrieved April 10, 2010, from U.S. Coast Guard : http://www.uscg.mil/History/uscghist/Port_Security_Photos_1.asp
Kotnik, J. (2009). Architecture de Containers. Barcelone : Link Books.
MediaWiki. (2010). Intermodal containers. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermodal_container
Sawyers, P. (2008). Intermodal Shipping Container Small Steel Buildings. Paul Sawyers.