CONTAINER TRANSPORTATION
A container is a large reusable receptacle that can
accommodate smaller cartons or cases in a single
shipment, designed for efficient handling of cargo.
Definition
A container is a large standard size metal box
conferred flexibility and hardiness which is either
made of steel or aluminum into which cargo is
packed for shipment aboard specially configured
oceangoing vessels and designed to be moved with
common handling equipment enabling high-speed
intermodal transfers in economically large units
between ships, railcars, truck chassis, and barges
using a minimum of labor.
 Roles
The container, serves as the load unit rather than the
cargo contained therein, making it the foremost
expression on intermodal transportation.
The usage of containers shows the complementarity
between freight transportation modes by offering a
higher fluidity to movements and a standardization
of loads.
Containers
Its elements
A Container “owns” its elements:
the lifetime of an element stored in a container
cannot exceed that of the Container itself.
Carrying Capacity of Containers (in cubic feet)
TEU
——Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit
FEU
——Forty-foot Equivalent Unit
The most prevalent container size is the 40 foot box,
which in its 2,400 cubic feet has the capacity to
carry the equivalent of 22 tons of cargo.
The initial container sizes were the “20–foot” and
the “40–foot” agreed upon in the 1960s and became
an ISO standard.
“Hi-cube” containers are one feet higher (9'6") than
the standard 8'6" height and a 40-foot hi-cube
container provides about 12% more carrying
capacity than its standard counterpart.
Table 2.5
Generation of container ship
Container ship generation
year
Loadage
1st generation
1956-1970
700-1000 TEU
2nd generation
1970-1980
1800-2000 TEU
3th generation
1980-1986
2500-3000 TEU
4th generation
1986-1993
3000-4500 TEU
5th generation
1993-2000
4500-6000 TEU
6th generation
2000 till now
Above 8000 TEU
Regina Maersk (capacity of about 6,700 TEU)
2.4.3 Advantages of Container Transport
Advantages:
Standard transport product
Flexibility of usage
Management
Costs
Speed
Warehousing
Security
Standard transport product
A container can be manipulated anywhere in the
world as its dimensions are an ISO standard. Indeed,
transfer infrastructures allow all elements (vehicles)
of a transport chain to handle it with relative ease.
Flexibility of usage
It can transport a wide variety of goods ranging
from raw materials manufactured goods, and cars to
frozen products.
There are specialized containers for transporting
liquids and perishable food items in refrigerated
containers.
Management
The container, as an indivisible unit, carries a unique
identification number and a size type code enabling
transport management not in terms of loads, but in
terms of unit.
Computerized management enables to reduce
waiting times considerably and to know the location
of containers at any time.
Costs
Relatively to bulk, container transportation reduces
transport costs considerably, about 20 times less
than bulk transport.
While before containerization maritime transport
costs could account between 5 and 10% of the retail
price, this share has been reduced to about 1.5%.
Speed
Transshipment operations are minimal and rapid.
This is notably attributable to gains in transshipment
time as a crane can handle more movements.
With less time in ports, containerships can spend
more time at sea, thus be more profitable to
operators. Further, containerships are on average
35% faster than regular freighter ships.
Warehousing
The container limits the risks for goods it transports
because it is resistant to shocks and weather
conditions.
The packaging of goods it contains is therefore
simpler and less expensive.
Besides, containers fit together permitting stacking
on ships, trains and on the ground.
Security
The contents of the container are unknown to
shippers as it can only be opened at the origin, at
customs and at the destination.
Spoilage and losses, especially those of valued
commodities, are therefore considerably reduced.
Drawbacks :
 consumption of space
 infrastructure costs
 stacking
 management logistics
 empty travel
 illicit trade