Container Definition | Apparel Search

Containerization is a system of intermodal cargo transport using standard ISO containers that can be loaded on container ships, railroad cars and trucks without unloading the goods inside. There are three common standard lengths: 20 feet, 40 feet and 45 feet. Container capacity, for ships, ports and terminals, is measured in twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEU. One TEU equals a standard 20-foot container, 8 feet wide and 8.5 feet high. Most containers today are of the 40-foot variety and thus count as 2 TEU; two TEU are also called one FEU, or forty-foot equivalent unit. High cube containers are taller, at 9.5 feet high, while half-height containers, used for heavy loads, are 4.25 feet high. The system grew out of the logistics revolution that changed freight handling in the 20th century, associated with Malcolm McLean and the Sea-Land corporation in the 1950s. Today, approximately 90 percent of cargo moves by containers stacked on transport ships, and over 200 million containers are shipped per year, including the cartons of clothing that supply the world apparel trade.

Containerization is a system of intermodal cargo transport using standard ISO containers that can be loaded on container ships, railroad cars, and trucks. There are three common standard lengths, 20 ft. (6.1 m), 40 ft. (12.2 m) and 45 ft. (13.7 m). Container capacity (of ships, ports, etc.) is measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU, or sometimes teu). A twenty-foot equivalent unit is a measure of containerized cargo equal to one standard 20 ft. (length) 8 ft. (width) 8.5 ft. (height) container (approximately 39 m³). Most containers today are of the 40-ft variety and thus are 2 TEU. 45 ft. containers are also designated 2 TEU. Two TEU are referred to as one FEU or "Forty-foot equivalent unit". These two terms of measurement are used interchangeably. "High cube" containers have a height of 9.5 ft. (2.9 m), while half-height containers, used for heavy loads, have a height of 4.25 ft. (1.3 m).

History

Containerization is an important element of the logistics revolution that changed freight handling in the 20th century. Malcolm McLean claimed to have invented the shipping container in the 1930s in New Jersey, but only founded Sea-Land corporation in the 1950s.

McLean explained that while sitting at a dock waiting for cargo he trucked in to be reloaded onto a ship, he realized that rather than loading and unloading the truck, the truck itself (with some minor modifications) could be the container that is transported.

Containerization revolutionized cargo shipping. Today, approximately 90% of cargo moves by containers stacked on transport ships. Over 200 million containers are shipped per year.

The widespread use of ISO standard containers influenced modifications in other freight moving standards, gradually forcing removable truck bodies or swap bodies into the same sizes and shapes (though without the strength needed to be stacked), and changing completely the worldwide use of freight pallets which fit into ISO containers or into commercial vehicles.

Biggest Container Companies

Top 12 container transportation and shipping companies (listed in order of number of ships & total equivalent units (TEU) 1 = a 20 ft container)
01 May 2005
Company	Number of ships	Company	TEU
Maersk	387	Maersk	1,036,582
Mediterranean	257	Mediterranean	681,334
CMA-CGM Group	185	P & O Nedlloyd *	460,203
P & O Nedlloyd *	162	Evergreen	439,538
Evergreen	153	CMA-CGM Group	412,007
COSCO	118	APL	315,879
China Shipping C.L. (CSCL)	111	Hanjin-Senator	298,173
NYK Line	105	China Shipping C.L. (CSCL)	290,089
APL	99	COSCO	289,800
Pacific International Lines	97	NYK Line	281,722
Zim Integrated Shipping Services	93	OOCL	237,318
CSAV Group	83	CSAV Group	215,992

^{(SOURCE:
BRS-Alphaliner)}

Other container systems

Haus-zu-Haus (Germany)
RACE containers (Australia)

Related topics for further research

Semi-trailer
Portainer cranes
Containerlift
ULD

Container Types Apparel Shippers Actually Use

The standard dry container is the workhorse of the clothing trade: a closed steel box with doors at one end, loaded with cartons of garments, footwear and accessories. High cube containers add a foot of height and are widely used for light, bulky apparel loads that fill volume before they reach weight limits. Beyond dry boxes, the container family includes refrigerated containers for temperature-sensitive goods, open top containers loaded by crane from above, flat racks for oversized cargo, tank containers for liquids, and half-height containers for very heavy loads. Each unit carries a unique identification number and a safety approval plate, and its movements are tracked by that number through ports and inland terminals.

For an apparel importer, the practical choices are container size, full container load versus less-than-container load, and how the box is packed. A full container load moves under one bill of lading for one shipper and receiver, while less-than-container cargo from several shippers is consolidated into a shared box and separated at destination. Carton dimensions, stacking strength and load planning determine how many cartons fit, and careful calculation of volume and volumetric weight avoids paying for empty space or facing a container that will not close its doors at the factory.

How Container Standards Changed World Trade

Standardization is what makes the container powerful. Because ISO containers share the same corner castings, widths and handling dimensions, cranes, ships, rail cars, chassis and terminal equipment worldwide are built to the same pattern, and a box loaded at a factory in one country can be handled sight unseen on the other side of the world. The widespread use of ISO containers also forced related standards to align: removable truck bodies and swap bodies adopted similar sizes, and freight pallets were sized to fit efficiently inside containers and commercial vehicles. The result was a steep fall in the labor and time needed to transfer cargo between modes, which in turn made long-distance sourcing of price-sensitive goods such as clothing economically routine.

Scale followed standardization. By the early 2000s the largest container operators ran hundreds of ships with combined capacity measured in hundreds of thousands of TEU, and annual container movements worldwide exceeded 200 million units. For fashion businesses, that scale means frequent sailings, predictable equipment supply in major trade lanes, and freight costs low enough that the ocean leg is often a small part of the total cost of a garment, even though its timing remains critical to seasonal selling.

Common Questions

What are the standard shipping container lengths?

The three common standard lengths are 20 feet, 40 feet and 45 feet. Most containers in use today are 40 feet long. Standard width is 8 feet, standard height is 8.5 feet, and high cube containers are 9.5 feet high.

What is the difference between TEU and FEU?

A TEU is one 20-foot equivalent unit, equal to a single standard 20-foot container. An FEU is a forty-foot equivalent unit, equal to 2 TEU, or one 40-foot container. The two measures are used interchangeably to express container capacity.

Who is credited with inventing containerization?

Malcolm McLean is credited with developing the modern shipping container system in the United States and founded the Sea-Land corporation in the 1950s, after realizing the truck body itself could serve as the container that is transported between modes.

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