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