View source for Containerization

{{short description|Intermodal freight transport system}}
{{redirect|Container Revolution|the pottery term|Container Revolution (pottery)}}
{{for|the virtualization technology|Containerization (computing)}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2012}}
[[File:Line3174 - Shipping Containers at the terminal at Port Elizabeth, New Jersey - NOAA.jpg|thumb|[[Shipping container]]s at the [[Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal]] in New Jersey, US]]
[[File:WCML freight train.jpg|thumb|A container-goods train on the [[West Coast Main Line]] near Nuneaton, England]]
[[File:Eastbound at Shawmut (16110256449).jpg|thumb|Double-stack Union Pacific container train crossing the desert at Shawmut, Arizona]]
[[File:NYK Virgo (8154929586).jpg|thumb|An ocean containership close to [[Cuxhaven]], Germany]]
[[File:Container ship loading-700px.jpg|thumb|A [[container ship]] being loaded by a [[portainer]] crane in [[Copenhagen]] Harbor, Denmark.]]
'''Containerization''' is a system of [[intermodal freight transport]] using [[intermodal container]]s (also called '''shipping containers''', or '''[[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] containers''').<ref name="PT">{{cite web |first = John |last = Edmonds |title = The Freight Essentials: Getting Your Products Across The Ocean. |url = https://go.indiegogo.com/blog/2017/03/freight-essentials.html |access-date =2017-09-01| date = 2017-03-03}}</ref> Containerization, also referred as '''container stuffing''' or '''container loading''', is the process of unitization of cargoes in exports. Containerization is the predominant form of unitization of export cargoes today, as opposed to other systems such as the barge system or palletization.<ref name="DrMariappaBabuBaskar">{{cite book |last1=Baskar |first1=Mariappa Babu |title=Blue Book of Container Stuffing – The Container Stuffing Management in International Logistics: The Economics Behind |publisher=Massey Press |location=Auckland |date=2021 |isbn = 978-1-7032-1302-7|edition=I}}</ref> The containers have [[Standardization|standardized]] dimensions. They can be loaded and unloaded, stacked, transported efficiently over long distances, and transferred from one [[mode of transport]] to another—[[container ship]]s, [[rail transport]] [[flatcar]]s, and [[semi-trailer truck]]s—without being opened. The handling system is mechanized so that all handling is done with cranes<ref name="PTS">{{cite journal |first = Krzysztof |last = Lewandowski | title = Growth in the Size of Unit Loads and Shipping Containers from Antique to WWI. |journal = Packaging Technology and Science |volume = 29 |issue = 8–9 |year =2016 |pages =451–478 |issn = 1099-1522 |doi = 10.1002/pts.2231|s2cid = 113982441 }}</ref> and special [[forklift]] trucks. All containers are numbered and tracked using computerized systems.

Containerization originated several centuries ago but was not well developed or widely applied until after [[World War II]], when it dramatically reduced the costs of transport, supported the post-war boom in [[international trade]], and was a major element in [[globalization]]. Containerization eliminated manual sorting of most shipments and the need for dock front warehouses, while displacing many thousands of dock workers who formerly simply handled [[break bulk cargo]]. Containerization reduced congestion in ports, significantly shortened shipping time, and reduced losses from damage and theft.{{sfn|Levinson|2006}}

Containers can be made from a wide range of materials such as steel, fibre-reinforced polymer, aluminum or a combination. Containers made from [[weathering steel]] are used to minimize [[maintenance, repair, and operations|maintenance needs]].

== Origin ==
[[File:Queens Wharf, Port Adelaide, before 1927.jpeg|thumb|Loading assorted break bulk cargo onto ships manually]]
[[File:LMS freight containers on lorry and rail wagon (CJ Allen, Steel Highway, 1928).jpg|thumb|Transferring freight containers on the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] 1928]]

Before containerization, goods were usually handled manually as [[break bulk cargo]]. Typically, goods would be loaded onto a vehicle from the factory and taken to a port warehouse where they would be offloaded and stored awaiting the next vessel. When the vessel arrived, they would be moved to the side of the ship along with other cargo to be lowered or carried into the hold and packed by dock workers. The ship might call at several other ports before off-loading a given consignment of cargo. Each port visit would delay the delivery of other cargo. Delivered cargo might then have been offloaded into another warehouse before being picked up and delivered to its destination. Multiple handling and delays made transport costly, time-consuming and unreliable.{{sfn|Levinson|2006}}

Containerization has its origins in early [[Coal mining in the United Kingdom|coal mining regions in England]] beginning in the late 18th century. In 1766 [[James Brindley]] designed the "starvationer" box boat with ten wooden containers, to transport coal from [[Worsley]] Delph (quarry) to Manchester by [[Bridgewater Canal]]. In 1795, [[Benjamin Outram]] opened the [[Little Eaton Gangway]], upon which coal was carried in [[wagons]] built at his Butterley Ironwork. The horse-drawn wheeled wagons on the gangway took the form of containers, which, loaded with coal, could be transshipped from canal [[barge]]s on the [[Derby Canal]], which Outram had also promoted.<ref>Ripley, David (1993). ''The Little Eaton Gangway and Derby Canal'' (Second ed.). Oakwood Press. {{ISBN|0-85361-431-8}}.</ref>

By the 1830s, railroads were carrying containers that could be transferred to other modes of transport. The [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]] in the UK was one of these, making use of "simple rectangular timber boxes" to convey coal from Lancashire collieries to Liverpool, where a crane transferred them to horse-drawn carriages.<ref>Essery, R. J, Rowland. D. P. & Steel W. O. ''British Goods Wagons from 1887 to the Present Day''. Augustus M. Kelly Publishers. New York. 1979 p. 92 {{ISBN?}}</ref> Originally used for moving coal on and off barges, "loose boxes" were used to containerize coal from the late 1780s, at places like the [[Bridgewater Canal]]. By the 1840s, iron boxes were in use as well as wooden ones. The early 1900s saw the adoption of closed container boxes designed for movement between road and rail.

=== Twentieth century ===
On 17 May 1917, [[Louisville, Kentucky]], native<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WYp5AAAAMAAJ&q=Fitch|title=Queen City Heritage|publisher=The Journal of the Cincinnati Historical Society|year=1985|volume=43–44|page=27|language=en}}</ref> Benjamin Franklin "B. F." Fitch (1877–1956)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Latimer J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LioDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31 |title=The Motor-Truck Helps the Railroad |date=July 1920|publisher=[[Popular Science#Early history|Popular Science Monthly]]|volume=97|pages=30–33|language=en}}</ref> launched commercial use of "demountable bodies" in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], which he had designed as transferable containers. In 1919, his system was extended to over 200 containers serving 21 railway stations with 14 freight trucks.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PFVAAAAMAAJ&q=%22benjamin+franklin+fitch%22|title=Railroad History, Issues 158–159 |date=1988|publisher=Railway and Locomotive Historical Society|page=78|language=en}}</ref>

In 1919, [[engineer]] Stanisław Rodowicz developed the first draft of the container system in [[Poland]]. In 1920, he built a prototype of the biaxial wagon. The [[Polish-Bolshevik War]] stopped development of the container system in Poland.<ref name="L&T">{{Cite journal | first = Krzysztof | last = Lewandowski | title = Stanisław Rodowicz, Eng. The Forgotten Pioneer of Containerization in Poland | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268153158 | journal = Logistics and Transport | volume = 23 |issue = 3 | year = 2014 | pages = 73–78 | issn = 1734-2015}}</ref>

The U.S. Post Office contracted with the [[New York Central Railroad]] to move mail via containers in May 1921. In 1930, the [[Chicago & Northwestern Railroad]] began shipping containers between Chicago and Milwaukee. Their efforts ended in the spring of 1931 when the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] disallowed the use of a flat rate for the containers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grant |first=H. Roger |date=1996 |title=The Northwestern A History of the Chicago & North Western Railway System |location=DeKalb, IL |publisher=[[Northern Illinois University Press]] |page=156 |isbn=978-0-87580-214-5}}</ref>

In 1926, a regular connection of the luxury passenger train from London to Paris, [[Golden Arrow (train)|Golden Arrow]]/[[Fleche d'Or]], by [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]] and [[French Northern Railway]], began. For transport of passengers' baggage four containers were used. These containers were loaded in London or Paris and carried to ports, Dover or Calais, on flat cars in the UK and "CIWL Pullman Golden Arrow Fourgon of CIWL" in France. At the Second World Motor Transport Congress in Rome, September 1928, Italian senator [[Silvio Benigno Crespi|Silvio Crespi]] proposed the use of containers for road and railway transport systems, using collaboration rather than competition. This would be done under the auspices of an international organ similar to the Sleeping Car Company, which provided international carriage of passengers in sleeping wagons. In 1928 [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] (PRR) started regular container service in the northeast U.S. After the [[Wall Street crash of 1929]] in [[New York City|New York]] and the subsequent Great Depression, many countries were without any means to transport cargo. The railroads were sought as a possibility to transport cargo, and there was an opportunity to bring containers into broader use. In February 1931 the first container ship was launched. It was called the Autocarrier, owned by Southern Railway UK. It had 21 slots for containers of Southern Railway.<ref name="TransportMeans2016">{{cite journal | first = Krzysztof |last = Lewandowski |title = The containers ships, which really was the first? | journal = Transport Means 2016, Proceedings of the 20th International Scientific Conference, October 5–7, 2016|location= Juodkrante, Lithuania |year = 2016 |pages = 668–676 |issn = 1822-296X}}</ref><ref name="S/S AUTOCARRIER">{{cite web |url=http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/autocarrier_1931_b_1.htm |title=S/S Autocarrier. Foto genom Roy Thorntonn samling |url-status=live |access-date=2021-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717031857/http://faktaomfartyg.se/autocarrier_1931_b_1.htm |archive-date=2015-07-17 }}</ref> Under auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris in [[Venice]] on September 30, 1931, on one of the platforms of the Maritime Station (Mole di Ponente), practical tests assessed the best construction for European containers as part of an international competition.<ref name="logistica2014a">{{cite journal |first=Krzysztof |last=Lewandowski |title=Czechoslovak activity to prepare European norms for containers before the Second World War |journal=Acta Logistica |volume=1 |year=2014 |issue=4 |pages=1–7 |issn=1339-5629 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270794211 |format=PDF |doi=10.22306/al.v1i4.25 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 1931, in the U.S., B. F. Fitch designed the two largest and heaviest containers in existence. One measured {{cvt|17|ft|6|in|m|2}} by {{cvt|8|ft|0|in|m|2}} by {{cvt|8|ft|0|in|m|2}} with a capacity of {{convert|30,000|lb|kg}} in {{convert|890|cuft|m3}}, and a second measured {{cvt|20|ft|0|in|m|2}} by {{cvt|8|ft|0|in|m|2}} by {{cvt|8|ft|0|in|m|2}}, with a capacity of {{convert|50,000|lb|kg}} in {{convert|1,000|cuft|m3}}.<ref name=Lewandowski>[https://socialscienceresearch.org/index.php/GJHSS/article/view/1607/5-Benjamin-Franklin-Fitch_html "Chapter 3. Education and Experience"] ''Benjamin Franklin Fitch the Forgotten Developer of the Container System in US of America'' by Krzysztof Lewandowski, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland. 2015.</ref>

In November 1932, in [[Enola, Pennsylvania]], the first [[container terminal]] in the world was opened by the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].<ref name="logistica2014a" /> The Fitch hooking system was used for reloading of the containers.<ref name=Lewandowski/>

The development of containerization was created in Europe and the U.S. as a way to revitalize rail companies after the [[Wall Street crash of 1929]], which had caused economic collapse and reduction in use of all modes of transport.<ref name="logistica2014a" />

In 1933 in Europe, under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce, the [[Bureau International des Containers|International Container Bureau]] (French: ''Bureau International des Conteneurs'', B.I.C.) was established. In June 1933, the B.I.C. decided on obligatory parameters for containers used in international traffic. Containers handled by means of lifting gear, such as cranes, overhead conveyors, etc. for traveling elevators (group I containers), constructed after July 1, 1933. Obligatory Regulations:
* Clause 1. Containers are, as regards form, either of the closed or the open type, and, as regards capacity, either of the heavy or the light type.
* Clause 2. The loading capacity of containers must be such that their total weight (load, plus tare) is: {{convert|5|t|2|lk=on}} for containers of the heavy type; {{convert|2.5|t|2}} for containers of the light type; a tolerance of 5 percent excess on the total weight is allowable under the same conditions as for wagon loads.<ref name="logistica2014a" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Obligatory norms for European containers since 1 July 1933 {{citation needed|date=June 2020}}<!-- the various statements in this table are completely unsourced -->
! Category!! length [m (ftin)] !! [m (ftin)] !! [m (ftin)] !! Total mass [tons]
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align: center;" | Heavy types
|-
| Close type 62 || {{cvt|3.25|m|ftin|frac=8}} ||{{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.20|m|ftin|frac=8}}
| rowspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | {{cvt|5|t|LT ST|2}}
|-
| Close type 42 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.20|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|-
| Open type 61 || {{cvt|3.25|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.10|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|-
| Open type 41 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.10|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align: center;" | Light Type
|-
| Close type 22 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.05|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.20|m|ftin|frac=8}}
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{cvt|2.5|t|LT ST|2}}
|-
| Close type 201 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.05|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.10|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|-
| Open type 21 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.05|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.10|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|}

In April 1935 BIC established a second standard for European containers:<ref name="logistica2014a" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Obligatory norms for European containers since 1 April 1935
! Category !! Length [m (ftin)] !! Width [m (ftin)] !! High [m (ftin)] !! Total mass [tons]
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align: center;" | Heavy types
|-
| Close 62 || {{cvt|3.25|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.55|m|ftin|frac=8}}
| rowspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | {{cvt|5|t|LT ST|2}}
|-
| Close 42 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.55|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|-
| Open 61 || {{cvt|3.25|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.125|m|ftin|frac=16}}
|-
| Open 41 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.125|m|ftin|frac=16}}
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align: center;" | Light Type
|-
| Close 32 || {{cvt|1.50|m|ftin|frac=8}}|| {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.55|m|ftin|frac=8}}
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{cvt|2.5|t|LT ST|2}}
|-
| Close 22 || {{cvt|1.05|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.55|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|}

From 1926 to 1947 in the U.S., the [[Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway]] carried motor carrier vehicles and shippers' vehicles loaded on [[flatcar]]s between Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois. Beginning in 1929, [[Seatrain Lines]] carried railroad boxcars on its sea vessels to transport goods between New York and Cuba.<ref>{{Cite journal | title = Seatrain: Railroad or steamship line? | first = Robert E. | last = Mohowski | journal = Classic Trains |date=Spring 2011 | pages = 64–73}}</ref>

In the mid-1930s, the [[Chicago Great Western Railway]] and then the [[New Haven Railroad]] began "[[Piggyback (transportation)#Rail|piggyback]]" service (transporting highway freight trailers on flatcars) limited to their own railroads. The Chicago Great Western Railway filed a U.S. patent in 1938 on their method of securing trailers to a flatcars using chains and turnbuckles. Other components included wheel chocks and ramps for loading and unloading the trailers from the flatcars.<ref>''The Chicago Great Western Railway'', David J. Fiore Sr., Charleston, South Carolina:  Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 51{{ISBN?}}</ref> By 1953, the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad|Chicago, Burlington and Quincy]], the [[Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad|Chicago and Eastern Illinois]], and the [[Southern Pacific Railroad|Southern Pacific]] railroads had joined the innovation. Most of the rail cars used were surplus flatcars equipped with new decks. By 1955, an additional 25 railroads had begun some form of piggyback trailer service.

==== World War II ====
During World War II, the [[Australian Army]] used containers to more easily deal with various [[break of gauge|breaks of gauge]] in the railroads. These non-stackable containers were about the size of the later [[Teus|20-foot ISO container]] and perhaps made mainly of wood.<ref>'''With Iron Rails''' p 8.26 by David Burke 1988{{Full citation needed|date=June 2013}}</ref>{{Request quotation|date=June 2013}}
[[File:Gueterwagen anagoria.JPG|thumb|Freight car in railway museum [[Bochum Dahlhausen Railway Museum|Bochum-Dahlhausen]], showing four different UIC-590 pa-containers]]

During the same time, the [[United States Army]] started to combine items of uniform size, lashing them onto a pallet, [[Unit load|unitizing]] cargo to speed the loading and unloading of transport ships. In 1947 the [[Transportation Corps]] developed the ''Transporter'', a rigid, corrugated steel container with a {{convert|9000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} carrying capacity, for shipping household goods of officers in the field. It was {{cvt|8|ft|6|in|m|2}} long, {{cvt|6|ft|3|in|m|2}}, and {{cvt|6|ft|10|in|m|2}} high, with double doors on one end, mounted on skids, and had lifting rings on the top four corners.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Van Ham |first1=Hans |last2=Rijsenbrij |first2=Joan |date=2012|title=Development of Containerization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CgQmkTczzPwC&pg=PA8 |location=Amsterdam |publisher=[[IOS Press]] |page=8 |isbn=978-1-61499-146-5 |access-date=27 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.transportation.army.mil/museum/transportation%20museum/CONEX.htm |title=History & Development of the Container – The "Transporter", predecessor to the CONEX |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=15 May 2013 |website=transportation.army.mil |publisher=[[U.S. Army Transportation Museum]] |access-date=20 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720104152/http://www.transportation.army.mil/museum/transportation%20museum/CONEX.htm |archive-date=20 July 2015}}</ref> During the [[Korean War]] the Transporter was evaluated for handling sensitive military equipment and, proving effective, was approved for broader use. Theft of material and damage to [[wood]]en crates convinced the army that steel containers were needed.
[[File:Malcolm McLean at railing, Port Newark, 1957 (7312751706).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Malcom McLean]] at railing, Port Newark, 1957]]

==== Mid-twentieth century ====
In April 1951, at [[Zürich Tiefenbrunnen railway station]], the Swiss Museum of Transport and ''[[Bureau International des Containers]]'' (BIC) held demonstrations of container systems, with the aim of selecting the best solution for Western Europe. Present were representatives from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy and the United States. The system chosen for Western Europe was based on the Netherlands' system for consumer goods and waste transportation called ''Laadkisten'' (literally, "loading bins"), in use since 1934. This system used [[roller container]]s that were moved by rail, truck and ship, in various configurations up to a capacity of {{convert|5500|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, and up to {{convert|3.1 x 2.3 x 2|m|ftin|frac=8}} size.<ref>{{cite journal |author=M.K. |title=Vorläufer der heutigen Container: pa, BT und B900 | trans-title=Predecessors of today's containers: pa, BT and B900 |language=de |url=http://s1gf.de/index.php?page=Attachment&attachmentID=15438&h=baff58dff7aacd89e3c5f73a93e2a6f668971165 |journal=MIBA |issue=Special 54 |pages=12–19 |access-date=23 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nicospilt.com/index_laadkisten.htm |title=Laadkistvervoer – Langs de rails |author=Nico Spilt |language=nl |trans-title=Loading bin transport |access-date=20 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720180139/http://www.nicospilt.com/index_laadkisten.htm |archive-date=20 July 2015}}</ref> This became the first post World War&nbsp;II European railway standard [[International Union of Railways|UIC]] 590, known as "pa-Behälter." It was implemented in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, West Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark.<ref name="PojazdySzynowe2015a"/>
With the popularization of the larger ISO containers, support for pa containers was phased out by the railways. In the 1970s they began to be widely used for transporting waste.<ref name="PojazdySzynowe2015a">{{Cite journal |first=Krzysztof |last=Lewandowski |title=Wymagania Organizacyjne Stosowania Systemu ACTS |language=pl |trans-title=Organizational Requirements Use the ACTS System |journal=Pojazdy Szynowe |volume=2 |year=2014 |pages=1–14 |issn=0138-0370 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269251044}}</ref>

<!--On 1 November 1951 East countries of Europe signed an International Agreement on Direct International Goods Transport by Rail and Procedure Instruction (SMGS). In this document were the terms small and big containers. As small containers means container with volume from 1 to 3 cubic meters and total mass to 2.5 tons. As big containers means container with volume more than 3 cubic meters and total mass 2.5-5 tons. In East side of Europe was designed railways station for operation small and big containers<ref name="PrecCLC2013">{{cite journal |first=Krzysztof |last=Lewandowski |title=LONG WAY OF STANDARDIZATION CONTAINERS IN EUROPE |journal=CLC 2013: Carpathian Logistics Congress – Congress Proceedings |year=2013 |pages=57–64 |publisher=[[Wrocław University of Technology]] |ISBN=978-80-87294-50-5 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289521656_LONG_WAY_OF_STANDARDIZATION_CONTAINERS_IN_EUROPE}}</ref> similarly as used on railways of the USSR.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://freespace.virgin.net/neil.worthington/baku.htm| title=Photos of containers in Baku| publisher=Freespace.virgin.net |date=1999-03-09 |access-date=2011-11-28}}</ref> -->
In 1952 the U.S. Army developed the Transporter into the CONtainer EXpress or [[CONEX box]] system. The size and capacity of the CONEXes were about the same as the Transporter,{{#tag:ref| (8'6" length, 6'3" width and 6'10½" height, and 9000 lbs capacity),<ref name=Heinsthesis>{{cite thesis |last=Heins |first=Matthew |date=2013 |title=The Shipping Container and the Globalization of American Infrastructure |type=dissertation |chapter=2 |publisher=[[University of Michigan]] |page=15 |chapter-url=http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/102480/mheins_1.pdf |access-date=21 July 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Levinson|2006|p=127}}|group="nb"}} but the system was made ''modular'', by the addition of a smaller, half-size unit of {{convert|6|ft|3|in|m|2|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|4|ft|3|in|m|2|abbr=on}} wide and {{convert|6|ft|10+1/2|in|m|2|abbr=on}} high.<ref>{{Cite report |date=15 December 1970 |title=Logistic Support in the Vietnam Era |volume=7: Containerization |url=http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/877965.pdf |publisher=US DoD Joint Logistics Review Board |page=10 |access-date=22 July 2015 |quote=The dimensions of the CONEX II are 75 by 82½ by 102 in. The CONEX container is a metal reusable shipping box. The most common type has a 295-cu. ft. capacity, is about 8½ by 6 by 7 ft, and can carry 9,000 lbs. The dimensions of the Half-CONEX or CONEX I container are 75 by 82¼ by 51 in. |archive-date=21 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721230641/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/877965.pdf }}</ref><ref name=VanHam>Development of Containerization // J. van Ham, J. Rijsenbrij: [https://books.google.com/books?id=CgQmkTczzPwC&pg=PA8 Steel containers] (page 8)</ref>{{#tag:ref| Some sources also mention a 12-foot version.<ref>Falloff // Robert Flanagan: [https://books.google.com/books?id=nuTu4FIZdhoC&pg=PA7 Fleeing G.o.D.] (page 7)</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://everhartfamily.com/vietnam1970.html |title=My Vietnam Tour – 1970 |author=Michael J. Everhart |date=7 July 2014 |access-date=21 July 2015 |quote=.. CONEX ... container that ... was about 7' high by 8' wide and about 12' long...}}</ref> and a third version, the ''CONEX III'' of {{convert|8 x 8 x 6.5|ft|m|2}}, and a capacity of 13,000 lbs was being developed. Connecting devices were intended to join three CONEX-III containers together into one 20-feet long unit, a standard recommended by the American Standards Association, for use in commercial rail, highway, and water shipping.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0831121 |title=Reusable Metal Shipping Container (Conex III) |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1968 |publisher=[[Defense Technical Information Center]] |access-date=2015-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727162017/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0831121 |archive-date=2015-07-27}}</ref>|group="nb"}} CONEXes could be stacked three high, and protected their contents from the elements.<ref name=Heinsthesis/>

The first major shipment of CONEXes, containing engineering supplies and spare parts, was made by rail from the Columbus General Depot in Georgia to the [[Port of San Francisco]], then by ship to Yokohama, Japan, and then to Korea, in late 1952. Transit times were almost halved. By the time of the [[Vietnam War]] the majority of supplies and materials were shipped by CONEX. By 1965 the U.S. military used some 100,000 CONEX boxes, and more than 200,000 in 1967.<ref name=VanHam/><ref name=JLRBreport>{{Cite report |date=15 December 1970 |title=Logistic Support in the Vietnam Era |volume=7: Containerization |url=http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/877965.pdf |publisher=US DoD Joint Logistics Review Board |pages=9–11 |access-date=22 July 2015 |archive-date=21 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721230641/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/877965.pdf }}</ref> making this the first worldwide application of intermodal containers.<ref name=Heinsthesis/> After the [[United States Department of Defense|US Department of Defense]] standardized an {{convert|8 by 8|ft|m|2|adj=on}} cross section container in multiples of {{convert|10|ft|m|2|adj=on}} lengths for military use, it was rapidly adopted for shipping purposes.{{Citation needed|date=July 2015}}

In 1955, former trucking company owner [[Malcom McLean]] worked with engineer [[Keith Tantlinger]] to develop the modern [[intermodal container]].{{sfn|Levinson|2016|pp=64–69}} All the containerization pioneers who came before McLean had thought in terms of optimizing particular modes of transport. McLean's "fundamental insight" which made the intermodal container possible was that the core business of the shipping industry "was moving cargo, not sailing ships".{{sfn|Levinson|2016|pp=70–71}} He visualized and helped to bring about a world reoriented around that insight, which required not just standardization of the metal containers themselves, but drastic changes to ''every'' aspect of cargo handling.{{sfn|Levinson|2016|pp=70–71}}

In 1955, McLean and Tantlinger's immediate challenge was to design a [[shipping container]] that could efficiently be loaded onto ships and would hold securely on sea voyages. The result was an {{convert|8|ft|m|2|adj=mid|-tall}} by {{convert|8|ft|m|2|abbr=on|adj=mid|-wide}} box in {{convert|10|ft|m|2|abbr=on|adj=mid|-long}} units constructed from {{convert|2.5|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=128|adj=mid|-thick}} corrugated steel. The design incorporated a [[twistlock]] mechanism atop each of the four corners, allowing the container to be [[spreader (container)|easily secured and lifted]] using cranes. Several years later, as a [[Fruehauf Trailer Corporation|Fruehauf]] executive, Tantlinger went back to McLean and convinced him to relinquish control of their design to help stimulate the container revolution. On January 29, 1963, McLean's company [[SeaLand]] released its patent rights, so that Tantlinger's inventions could become "the basis for a standard corner fitting and twist lock".{{sfn|Levinson|2016|p=188}} Tantlinger was deeply involved in the debates and negotiations which in back-to-back votes in September 1965 (on September 16 and 24, respectively) led to the adoption of a modified version of the Sea-Land design as the American and then the international standard for corner fittings for shipping containers.{{sfn|Levinson|2016|p=191}}  This began international standardization of shipping containers.<ref name="bbc-boxtcb">{{cite video|title=The Box that Changed Britain|people=McGough, Roger (Narrator), McAulay, Graeme (Director & Producer), Crossley-Holland, Dominic (Executive Producer)|medium=documentary|work=BBC4|publisher=BBC|date=2010}}</ref>

=== Purpose-built ships ===
[[File:Korea busan pusan harbour cargo container terminal.JPG|right|thumb|Containers waiting at the South Korean port of [[Busan]].]]
{{Main article|Container ship}}

The first vessels purpose-built to carry containers had begun operation in 1926 for the regular connection of the luxury passenger train between London and Paris, the [[Golden Arrow (train)|Golden Arrow]]/[[Fleche d'Or]]. Four containers were used for the conveyance of passengers' baggage. These containers were loaded in London or Paris and carried to the ports of Dover or Calais.<ref name="logistica2014a" /> In February 1931 the first container ship in the world was launched. It was called the Autocarrier, owned by the UK's Southern Railway. It had 21 slots for containers of Southern Railway.<ref name="TransportMeans2016" /><ref name="S/S AUTOCARRIER" />

The next step was in Europe after World War II. Vessels purpose-built to carry containers were used between UK and Netherlands<ref name="PojazdySzynowe2015a" /> and also in Denmark in 1951.{{sfn|Levinson|2006|p=31}} In the United States, ships began carrying containers in 1951, between [[Seattle]], Washington, and Alaska.<ref name="AntonsonHanable1985">{{cite book|last1=Antonson|first1=Joan M.|last2=Hanable|first2=William S.|title=Alaska's heritage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iWhFAAAAYAAJ|access-date=24 April 2012|year=1985|publisher=Alaska Historical Society for the Alaska Historical Commission, Dept. of Education, State of Alaska|isbn=978-0-943712-18-5|page=328}}</ref> None of these services was particularly successful. First, the containers were rather small, with 52% of them having a volume of less than {{convert|3|m3|cuft|0}}. Almost all European containers were made of wood and used canvas lids, and they required additional equipment for loading into rail or truck bodies.{{sfn|Levinson|2006|pp=31–32}}

The world's first purpose-built container vessel was ''Clifford J. Rodgers'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marineinsight.com/maritime-history/clifford-j-rodgers-the-worlds-first-purpose-built-container-ship/|title=Clifford J. Rodgers: The World's First Purpose Built Container Ship|work=Marine Insight|date=21 July 2016|access-date=17 August 2017}}</ref> built in Montreal in 1955 and owned by the [[White Pass and Yukon Route|White Pass and Yukon Corporation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hougengroup.com/yukon-history/yukon-nuggets/white-pass-the-container-pioneers/|title=White Pass The Container Pioneers|publisher=Hougen Group of Companies|access-date=2015-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208115759/http://www.hougengroup.com/yukon-history/yukon-nuggets/white-pass-the-container-pioneers/|archive-date=2015-12-08}}</ref> Her first trip carried 600 containers between North Vancouver, British Columbia, and Skagway, Alaska, on November 26, 1955. In Skagway, the containers were unloaded to purpose-built [[railroad car]]s for transport north to Yukon, in the first [[intermodal freight transport|intermodal]] service using trucks, ships, and railroad cars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yukonmuseums.ca/treasures/ytm/09.html|title=Cargo Container|work=Treasures of the Yukon|publisher=Yukon Museum Guide|access-date=24 April 2012|archive-date=17 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017164723/http://www.yukonmuseums.ca/treasures/ytm/09.html}}</ref> Southbound containers were loaded by shippers in Yukon and moved by rail, ship, and truck to their consignees without opening. This first intermodal system operated from November 1955 until 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hougengroup.com/family/1950s/1950s.aspx?year50=1957 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126132133/http://www.hougengroup.com/family/1950s/1950s.aspx?year50=1957 |archive-date=26 January 2013 |title=White Pass: The Container Pioneers |last=McLaughlin |first=Les |publisher=[[CKRW-FM]] |access-date=24 April 2012 }}</ref>

The first truly successful container shipping company dates to April 26, 1956, when American trucking entrepreneur McLean put 58 ''trailer vans''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/04/27/archives/tankers-to-carry-2way-pay-loads-filled-trailer-vans-to-form-cargoes.html|title=Tankers to Carry 2-Way Pay Loads; Filled Trailer Vans to Form Cargoes for Vessels That Normally Carry Ballast|work=The New York Times| date= April 27, 1956}}</ref> later called containers, aboard a refitted tanker ship, the {{SS|Ideal X}}, and sailed them from [[Newark, New Jersey]], to [[Houston, Texas]].{{sfn|Levinson|2006|p=1}} Independently of the events in Canada, McLean had the idea of using large containers that never opened in transit and that were transferable on an intermodal basis, among trucks, ships, and railroad cars. McLean had initially favored the construction of "trailerships"—taking trailers from large trucks and stowing them in a ship's [[cargo]] hold. This method of stowage, referred to as [[roll-on/roll-off]], was not adopted because of the large waste in potential cargo space on board the vessel, known as broken [[stowage]]. Instead, McLean modified his original concept into loading just the containers, not the chassis, onto the ship; hence the designation "container ship" or "box" ship.<ref name="CudahyB-TRN-2006-Sep-Oct">Cudahy, Brian J., [http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/trnews/trnews246.pdf "The Containership Revolution: Malcom McLean's 1956 Innovation Goes Global"]. ''TR News''. (c/o National Academy of Sciences). Number 246. September–October 2006</ref>{{sfn|Levinson|2006}} (See also [[pantechnicon van]] and [[trolley and lift van]].)

=== Toward standards ===
[[File:Maersk Line containers in late 1960s (7312784586).jpg|thumb|Maersk Line containers in 1975.]]
[[File:Psa keppel.JPG|thumb|right|Keppel Container Terminal in [[Singapore]]]]

During the first 20 years of containerization, many container sizes and corner fittings were used. There were dozens of incompatible container systems in the US alone. Among the biggest operators, the [[Matson Navigation Company]] had a fleet of {{convert|24|ft|m|2|adj=on}} containers, while [[Sea-Land Service, Inc]] used {{convert|35|ft|m|2|adj=on}} containers. The standard sizes and fitting and reinforcement norms that now exist evolved out of a lengthy and complex series of compromises among international shipping companies, European railroads, US railroads, and US trucking companies.  Everyone had to sacrifice something.  For example, to McLean's frustration, Sea-Land's 35-foot container was not adopted as one of the standard container sizes.{{sfn|Levinson|2016|p=188}}  In the end, four important ISO ([[International Organization for Standardization]]) recommendations standardized containerization globally:<ref name="Rushton">Rushton, A., Oxley, J., Croucher, P. (2004). ''The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management''. Kogan Page: London.</ref>

* January 1968: '''[[ISO 668]]''' defined the terminology, dimensions and ratings.
* July 1968: '''R-790''' defined the identification markings.
* January 1970: '''R-1161''' made recommendations about corner fittings.
* October 1970: '''R-1897''' set out the minimum internal dimensions of general purpose freight containers.

Based on these standards, the first [[Twenty-foot equivalent unit|TEU]] container ship was the Japanese ''{{interlanguage link|Hakone Maru|de|Hakone Maru|jp|箱根丸 (コンテナ船)}}'' from shipowner NYK, which started sailing in 1968 and could carry 752 TEU containers.

In the US, containerization and other advances in shipping were impeded by the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] (ICC), which was created in 1887 to keep railroads from using monopolist pricing and rate discrimination, but fell victim to [[regulatory capture]]. By the 1960s, ICC approval was required before any shipper could carry different items in the same vehicle or change rates. The fully integrated systems in the US today became possible only after the ICC's regulatory oversight was cut back (and abolished in 1995). Trucking and rail were deregulated in the 1970s and maritime rates were deregulated in 1984.<ref>{{cite news | last =Postrel | first =Virginia | title =The Box that Changed the World | work =Dynamist.com | date =2006-03-23 | url =http://www.dynamist.com/weblog/archives/002097.html | access-date =2008-02-14 | archive-date =2008-03-09 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080309175320/http://www.dynamist.com/weblog/archives/002097.html }}</ref>

[[Double-stack rail transport|Double-stacked rail transport]], where containers are stacked two high on railway cars, was introduced in the US. The concept was developed by Sea-Land and the Southern Pacific railroad. The first standalone double-stack container car (or single-unit {{convert|40|ft|m|1|adj=on}} COFC well car) was delivered in July 1977. The five-unit well car, the industry standard, appeared in 1981. Initially, these double-stack railway cars were deployed in regular train service. Ever since American President Lines initiated in 1984 a dedicated double-stack container train service between Los Angeles and Chicago, transport volumes increased rapidly.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bernhardt |first=Karl-Heinz |date=December 1986 |title=Double-stack unit train container service: its commercial impact and value to the military skipper |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA176892.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825143255/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA176892.pdf |archive-date=August 25, 2022 |access-date=August 25, 2022 |website=[[Defense Technical Information Center]] |pages=33–36 |language=en }}</ref>

=== Effects ===
[[File:Shanghai Express Port of Rotterdam 17-Apr-2006.jpg|thumb|''Shanghai Express'', [[Port of Rotterdam]]]]

Containerization greatly reduced the expense of [[international trade]] and increased its speed, especially of consumer goods and commodities. It also dramatically changed the character of port cities worldwide. Prior to highly mechanized container transfers, crews of 20 to 22 [[longshoremen]] would pack individual cargoes into the hold of a ship. After containerization, large crews of longshoremen were not necessary at port facilities, and the profession changed drastically.

Meanwhile, the port facilities needed to support containerization changed. One effect was the decline of some ports and the rise of others. At the [[Port of San Francisco]], the former piers used for loading and unloading were no longer required, but there was little room to build the vast holding lots needed for storing and sorting containers in transit between different transport modes. As a result, the Port of San Francisco essentially ceased to function as a major commercial port, but the neighboring [[Port of Oakland]] emerged as the second largest on the US West Coast. A similar fate occurred with the relationship between the [[Port of New York and New Jersey|ports of Manhattan and New Jersey]]. In the UK, the [[Port of London]] and [[Port of Liverpool]] declined in importance. Meanwhile, Britain's [[Port of Felixstowe]] and [[Port of Rotterdam]] in the Netherlands emerged as major ports.

In general, containerization caused [[inland port]]s on waterways incapable of receiving deep-[[Draft (hull)|draft]] ship traffic to decline in favor of [[seaport]]s, which then built vast container terminals next to deep oceanfront harbors in lieu of the dockfront warehouses and finger piers that had formerly handled break bulk cargo. With intermodal containers, the jobs of packing, unpacking, and sorting cargoes could be performed far from the point of embarkation. Such work shifted to so-called "[[dry port]]s" and gigantic warehouses in rural inland towns, where land and labor were much cheaper than in oceanfront cities. This fundamental transformation of where warehouse work was performed freed up valuable waterfront real estate near the [[central business district]]s of port cities around the world for [[redevelopment]] and led to a plethora of waterfront revitalization projects (such as [[List of warehouse districts|warehouse districts]]).<ref name="Hein_Page_821">{{cite book |last1=Hein |first1=Carola |editor1-last=Clark |editor1-first=Peter |title=The Oxford Handbook of Cities in World History |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-163769-8 |pages=809–827 [821]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z09oAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA821 |chapter=Port Cities}}</ref>

The effects of containerization rapidly spread beyond the shipping industry. Containers were quickly adopted by trucking and rail transport industries for cargo transport not involving sea transport. Manufacturing also evolved to adapt to take advantage of containers. Companies that once sent small consignments began grouping them into containers. Many cargoes are now designed to precisely fit containers. The reliability of containers made [[Just-in-time manufacturing|just in time manufacturing]] possible as component suppliers could deliver specific components on regular fixed schedules.

In 2004, global container traffic was 354 million [[Twenty-foot equivalent unit|TEU]]s, of which 82 percent were handled by the world's top 100 container ports.<ref>{{cite book | author = James Jixian Wang | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PfOcUn9GCc4C&pg=PA71 | title = Ports, Cities, and Global Supply Chains | language = en | publisher = Ashgate Publishing |year=2007| oclc = 1074025516 |pages =61–72|isbn = 978-0-7546-7054-4}}</ref>

== Twenty-first century ==
[[File:Maersk Virginia, Fremantle, 2015 (01).JPG|thumb|''Maersk Virginia'' departing from [[Fremantle Harbour|Fremantle]], Australia]]

{{As of|2009}}, approximately 90% of non-[[bulk cargo]] worldwide is moved by containers stacked on transport ships;<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Ebeling | first = C. E. | title = Evolution of a Box | journal = Invention and Technology | volume = 23 | issue = 4 | pages = 8–9 | date = Winter 2009 | issn = 8756-7296}}</ref> 26% of all container [[transshipment]] is carried out in China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.SHP.GOOD.TU |title=Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) &#124; Data &#124; Table |publisher=Data.worldbank.org |access-date=2011-11-28}}</ref> For example, in 2009 there were 105,976,701 transshipments in China (both international and coastal, excluding Hong Kong), 21,040,096 in Hong Kong (which is listed separately), and only 34,299,572 in the United States. In 2005, some 18 million containers made over 200 million trips per year. Some ships can carry over {{TEU|14,500|first=yes}}, such as the ''[[Emma Mærsk]]'', {{convert|396|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} long, launched in August 2006. It has been predicted that, at some point, container ships will be constrained in size only by the depth of the [[Straits of Malacca]], one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, linking the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. This so-called [[Malaccamax]] size constrains a ship to dimensions of {{convert|470|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|60|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} wide.{{sfn|Levinson|2006}}

Few foresaw the extent of the influence of containerization on the [[shipping industry]]. In the 1950s, Harvard University economist [[Benjamin Chinitz]] predicted that containerization would benefit New York by allowing it to ship its industrial goods more cheaply to the Southern US than other areas, but he did not anticipate that containerization might make it cheaper to import such goods from abroad. Most economic studies of containerization merely assumed that shipping companies would begin to replace older forms of transportation with containerization, but did not predict that the process of containerization itself would have a more direct influence on the choice of producers and increase the total volume of trade.{{sfn|Levinson|2006}}

The widespread use of ISO standard containers has driven modifications in other freight-moving standards, gradually forcing removable truck bodies or [[swap body|swap bodies]] into standard sizes and shapes (though without the strength needed to be stacked), and changing completely the worldwide use of freight [[pallet]]s that fit into ISO containers or into commercial vehicles.

Improved cargo security is an important benefit of containerization. Once the cargo is loaded into a container, it is not touched again until it reaches its destination.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.courtesytransferinc.com/detroit-michigan-intermodal-transport-and-drayage/|title=Detroit, Michigan Intermodal Transport and Drayage {{!}} Courtesy Transfer Inc.|work=Courtesy Transfer Inc.|access-date=2018-02-25|language=en-US}}</ref> The cargo is not visible to casual viewers, and thus is less likely to be stolen. Container doors are usually sealed so that tampering is more evident. Some containers are fitted with electronic monitoring devices and can be remotely monitored for changes in air pressure, which happens when the doors are opened. This reduced thefts that had long plagued the shipping industry. Recent developments have focused on the use of intelligent logistics optimization to further enhance security.

The use of the same basic sizes of containers across the globe has lessened the problems caused by incompatible [[rail gauge]] sizes. The majority of the rail networks in the world operate on a {{RailGauge|sg}} gauge track known as [[standard gauge]], but some countries (such as Russia, India, Finland, and Lithuania) use [[broad gauge|broader gauges]], while others in Africa and South America use [[narrow gauge|narrower gauges]]. The use of container trains in all these countries makes transshipment between trains of different gauges easier.

Containers have become a popular way to [[Car shipping|ship private cars and other vehicles]] overseas using 20- or 40-foot containers. Unlike [[roll-on/roll-off]] vehicle shipping, personal effects can be loaded into the container with the vehicle, allowing easy international relocation.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}

In July, 2020, The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), a non-profit group established to further digitalisation of container shipping technology standards, published standards for the digital exchange of operational vessel schedules (OVS).<ref>{{cite news |title=DCSA publishes standards for digital schedules |url=https://www.globalcargonews.com/dcsa-publishes-standards-for-digital-schedules |access-date=8 July 2020 |issue=8 July 2020 |publisher=Global Cargo News |archive-date=8 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708125624/https://www.globalcargonews.com/dcsa-publishes-standards-for-digital-schedules }}</ref>

Contrary to ocean shipping containers owned by the shippers, a persisting trend in the industry is for (new) units to be purchased by leasing companies. Leasing business accounted for 55% of new container purchases in 2017, with their box fleet growing at 6.7%, compared to units of transport operators growing by just 2.4% more TEU, said global shipping consultancy Drewry in their 'Container Census & Leasing and Equipment Insight', leading to a leased share of the global ocean container fleet reaching 54% by 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://axxessintl.com/en/ocean-carriers-rely-increasingly-on-leased-containers/ |title=Ocean carriers rely increasingly on leased containers – Axxess International |access-date=2021-08-27 |archive-date=2021-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827222517/https://axxessintl.com/en/ocean-carriers-rely-increasingly-on-leased-containers/ }}</ref>

In 2021, the average time to unload a container in Asia was 27 seconds, the average time in Northern Europe was 46 seconds, and the average time in North America was 76 seconds.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rivero |first=Nicolás |url=https://qz.com/2065671/cargo-ships-are-so-full-that-ports-are-struggling-to-unload-them/ |title=Cargo ships are so stuffed that ports are struggling to unload them |work=[[Quartz (publication)]] |date=2021-09-28 |access-date=2021-09-29 }}</ref>

== Container standards ==

=== ISO standard ===
<!-- Please do not change the above heading; if it has to be changed, then please change the huge number of links to Containerization#ISO_standard. -->
{{Main article|Intermodal container}}
[[File:Intermodal train 01.jpg|thumb|40 foot containers on the [[BNSF Railway|BNSF]] line through [[La Crosse, Wisconsin|La Crosse]]]]

There are five common standard lengths:
* {{convert|20|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
* {{convert|40|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
* {{convert|45|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
* {{convert|48|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
* {{convert|53|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}

US domestic standard containers are generally {{convert|48|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} and {{convert|53|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} (rail and truck). Container capacity is often expressed in [[twenty-foot equivalent unit]]s (TEU, or sometimes ''teu''). An equivalent unit is a measure of containerized cargo capacity equal to one standard {{convert|20|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} (length) × {{convert|8|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} (width) container. As this is an approximate measure, the height of the box is not considered. For instance, the {{convert|9|ft|6|in|m|2|abbr=on}} ''high cube'' and the {{convert|4|ft|3|in|m|2|abbr=on}} ''half height'' {{convert|20|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} containers are also called one TEU. 48' containers have been phased out over the last ten years{{when?|date=September 2024}} in favor of 53' containers.

The maximum gross mass for a {{convert|20|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} dry cargo container was initially set at {{convert|24,000|kg|abbr=on}}, and {{convert|30,480|kg|abbr=on}}for a {{convert|40|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} container (including the {{convert|9|ft|6|in|m|2|abbr=on|disp=or}} <!-- {{convert|2.87|m|ftin|abbr=on|disp=or}} --> high cube) . Allowing for the [[tare weight|tare mass]] of the container, the maximum payload mass is therefore reduced to approximately {{convert|22,000|kg|abbr=on}} for {{convert|20|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}, and {{convert|27,000|kg|abbr=on}} for {{convert|40|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} containers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emase.co.uk/data/cont.html |title=Shipping containers |publisher=Emase |access-date=2007-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420143514/http://emase.co.uk/data/cont.html |archive-date=2009-04-20}}</ref>

It was increased to 30,480&nbsp;kg for the 20' in 2005, then further increased to a max of 36,000&nbsp;kg for all sizes by the amendment 2 (2016) of the ISO standard 668 (2013).

The original choice of {{convert|8|ft|m|2|adj=on}} height for ISO containers was made in part to suit a large proportion of railway tunnels, though some had to be modified. The current standard is {{convert|8|ft|6|in|m|2|spell=in}} high. With the arrival of even taller hi-cube containers at {{convert|9|ft|6|in|m|2|spell=in}} and [[Double-stack rail transport|double stacking]] rail cars, further enlargement of the rail [[loading gauge]] is proving necessary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://railwaysafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3493&Itemid=36|title=Railways Africa|first=Railways|last=Africa}}</ref>

=== Air freight containers ===
[[File:LD-air-freight-containers.jpg|thumb|A number of LD-designation [[Unit Load Device]] containers]]
{{Main article|Unit load device}}

While major airlines use containers that are custom designed for their aircraft and associated ground handling equipment the [[International Air Transport Association|IATA]] has created a set of standard aluminium container sizes of up to {{convert|11.52|m3|abbr=on|sigfig=3}} in volume.

=== Other container system standards ===
Some other container systems (in date order) are:
* (1922) [[NYC container]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4701552 |title=ENGINEERING. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]] |location=Melbourne |date=16 February 1922 |access-date=25 October 2011 |page=11}}</ref>
* (1924) [[von-Haus-zu-Haus]] (''house to house''; Germany)<ref>Van Ham, J.C. and Rijsenbrij, J.C. ''Development of Containerization''. IOS Press, 2012, p. 39.</ref>
* Japanese railway containers: Containers used by the [[Japan Freight Railway Company]]{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}
* (1925) [[Mack Trucks|Mack]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31871575 |title=Freight Handling|newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=30 July 1925 |access-date=29 October 2011 |page=4}}</ref>
* (1927) [[English Railway container]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51548804 |title=NEW TRANSPORT METHOD. |newspaper=[[The Examiner (Tasmania)|The Examiner]] |location=Launceston, Tas. |date=7 June 1929 |access-date=25 October 2011 |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28047495 |title=Commercial|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=13 May 1929 |access-date=26 October 2011 |page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17216389 |title=Railway Containers |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=2 January 1936 |access-date=27 October 2011 |page=9}}</ref>
* (1928) [[Victorian Railways]] – refrigerated container<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3974817 |title=The Country Page|newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]] |location=Melbourne |date=12 December 1928 |access-date=27 October 2011 |page=26}}</ref>
* (1929) International Competition<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article54650672 |title=Through Road, Rail and Water Traffic|newspaper=[[The Morning Bulletin]] |location=Rockhampton|date=26 April 1929 |access-date=28 October 2011 |page=10}}</ref>
* (1930) [[GWR Container]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16701153 |title=New railway Container|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=8 September 1930 |access-date=25 October 2011 |page=11}}</ref>
* (1931) International Chamber of Commerce<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16814839 |title=International Container |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=31 December 1931 |access-date=26 October 2011 |page=9}} ICC</ref>
* (1933) [[International Container Bureau]]:<ref name="logistica2014a"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16972758 |title=International Container Bureau|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=18 April 1933 |access-date=27 October 2011 |page=13}}</ref>
* (1936) [[South Australian Railways]] [[Wolseley, South Australia|Wolseley]] [[break of gauge]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35426150 |title=New Freight Containers For S.E. Railway Services. |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |location=Adelaide |date=23 April 1936 |access-date=26 October 2011 |page=19}}</ref>
* (1946) [[Queensland Rail]]ways milk container, {{convert|2000|impgal|L USgal}}, road-rail<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42483056 |title=Milk Business|newspaper=[[Cairns Post]] |location=cairns|date=14 February 1946 |access-date=26 October 2011 |page=4}}</ref>
* (1974) [[RACE (container)|RACE]] (Australia) – slightly wider than ISO containers to fit slightly wider Australian Standard [[pallet]]s<ref>RACE equipment gears up ROA container expansion ''[[Railway Transportation]]'' August 1974 page 5</ref><ref>Railways well in the freight Race ''[[Freight & Container Transportation]]'' May 1974 page 55</ref>
* (1994) [[Roller container#ACTS|ACTS]] roller containers for [[Intermodal freight transport|intermodal transport]] by rail and road (Central Europe)
* (1998) [[PODS (company)|PODS]]
* (2005?) [[SECU (container)|SECU]] (Sweden, Finland, UK) – big {{convert|95|t|abbr=on}} container.
* [[Intermodal container#Pallet wide containers|Pallet-wide containers]] are used in Europe and have length ({{convert|45|, |40|or|20|ft|m|2|abbr=on|disp=or}}) and height like ISO-containers, but they are {{convert|2.484|m|ftin|abbr=on|frac=8}} wide externally and {{convert|2.420|m|ftin|abbr=on|frac=8}} internally to fit [[EUR-pallet]] better.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.k-tainer.eu/en/container-trading/standard-container|title=20ft Standard Container – K-Tainer|access-date=2012-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103012031/http://www.k-tainer.eu/en/container-trading/standard-container|archive-date=2012-01-03}}</ref> They are meant for transport inside Europe and are often accepted in ships.
* (2014) The IPPC's [[Sea Container Task Force]] (SCTF) finalises the [[Cargo Transport Units Code]] (CTU Code).<ref name="SCTF-final">{{cite web | title=SCTF final report | website=IPPC ([[International Plant Protection Convention]]) | publisher=UN [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]] | date=2022-01-11 | url=https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/capacity-development/sea-containers/sctf-final-report/ | access-date=2022-03-21 }}</ref>
* (2021) The National Standard of the People's Republic of China is [[GB/T 39919-2021]] ''Code of practice for the plant quarantine of exit freight containers'' {{as of|2021|11|01|lc=yes|df=US}}.<ref name="SCTF-final" />

== Container loading ==
=== Full container load ===
A full container load (FCL)<ref>John Good https://www.johngood.co.uk/ufaqs/difference-fcl-lcl/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511110457/https://www.johngood.co.uk/ufaqs/difference-fcl-lcl/ |date=2021-05-11 }}</ref> is an [[ISO standard]] container that is loaded and unloaded under the risk and account of one shipper and one consignee. In practice, it means that the whole container is intended for one consignee. FCL container shipment tends to have lower [[freight rate]]s than an equivalent weight of [[cargo]] in bulk. FCL is intended to designate a container loaded to its allowable maximum weight or volume, but FCL in practice on [[ocean freight]] does not always mean a full payload or capacity – many companies will prefer to keep a 'mostly' full container as a single container load to simplify logistics and increase security compared to sharing a container with other goods.

=== Less-than-container load ===
{{See also|less-than-carload}}
Less-than-container load (LCL) is a [[shipment]] that is not large enough to fill a standard [[cargo container]]. The abbreviation LCL formerly applied to "less than (railway) car load" for quantities of material from different shippers or for delivery to different destinations carried in a single [[Railway carriage|railway car]] for efficiency. LCL freight was often sorted and redistributed into different railway cars at intermediate [[railway terminal]]s en route to the final destination.<ref>{{cite book| title=This Fascinating Railroad Business |author=Henry, Robert Selph|author-link=Robert Selph Henry |publisher=The Bobbs-Merrill Company |year=1942 |pages=319–321}}</ref> It can also be defined as "a quantity of cargo less than that which fills the visible or rated capacity of an inter-modal container",{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} or "a consignment of cargo which is inefficient to fill a shipping container. It is grouped with other consignments for the same destination in a container at a container [[freight station]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.knownet.hhs.gov/log/transDR/Glossary/definitions.htm |title=The Federal Logistics SuperSite&nbsp;– The Federal Transportation Management Desk Reference: Glossary&nbsp;– Definitions |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041031151651/http://www.knownet.hhs.gov/log/transDR/Glossary/definitions.htm |archive-date=October 31, 2004}}<!-- Bot generated title --></ref>

'''Groupage''' is the process of forming a full container load by combining multiple shipments for efficiency and to save costs.<ref>[https://www.logisticsglossary.com/term/groupage/ Logistics Glossary], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511110604/https://www.logisticsglossary.com/term/groupage/ |date=2021-05-11 }}</ref> A groupage operator, consolidator or [[freight forwarder]] is able to undertake this role.<ref>Super International Shipping, [https://super-internationalshipping.com/what-is-groupage-shipping/ What is Groupage Shipping? Process, Calculation & Benefits], accessed on 29 October 2025</ref>

== Issues ==

=== Hazards ===
Containers are actively used for smuggling and trafficking illicit goods and people. Drugs, antiques, weapons, undeclared merchandise, jewellery, human beings, wildlife, counterfeit products, as well as chemical, radioactive and biological materials, are illegally transported via containers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Bueger |first1=Christian |title=Understanding maritime security |last2=Edmunds |first2=Timothy |date=2024 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-776718-4 |series=Oxford scholarship online Political Science |location=New York, NY}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Greenland |first=Fiona |date=2017-11-07 |title=Free ports and steel containers: The <i>corpora delicti</i> of artefact trafficking |journal=History and Anthropology |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=15–20 |doi=10.1080/02757206.2017.1397648 |issn=0275-7206}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-22 |title=Inspection of shipping containers at Belgium port turns up 4.78 tons of cocaine, weapons and $193,000 in cash – CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cocaine-shipping-containers-antwerp-port-belgium/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |publisher=CBS News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Moloney |first1=Georgia Kate |last2=Chaber |first2=Anne-Lise |date=2024-04-03 |title=Where are you hiding the pangolins? screening tools to detect illicit contraband at international borders and their adaptability for illegal wildlife trafficking |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=19 |issue=4 |article-number=e0299152 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0299152 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=10990205 |pmid=38568991|bibcode=2024PLoSO..1999152M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-12 |title=Wildlife Trafficking: Why battling this illicit trade is crucial {{!}} ICE |url=https://www.ice.gov/features/wildlife |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=ice.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Oral |first1=Ferhan |last2=Paker |first2=Serim |date=2023-12-20 |title=Risk Assessment for Maritime Container Transportation Security |journal=Journal of ETA Maritime Science |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=304–316 |doi=10.4274/jems.2023.80148 |issn=2147-2955|doi-access=free }}</ref> Additionally, there are concerns about terrorists using containers to transport weapons of mass destruction (WMD).<ref>{{Citation |last=Bowley |first=Robin |title=Preventing terrorist targeting of ships |date=2022-12-23 |work=Preventing Terrorist Attacks at Sea |pages=84–124 |place=London |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780429320958-4 |isbn=978-0-429-32095-8}}</ref> However, these concerns remain hypothetical.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lehr |first=Peter |title=Routledge handbook of naval strategy and security |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-1-315-73257-2 |editor-last=Bruns |editor-first=Sebastian |series=Routledge handbooks |location=London New York, N.Y |pages=202–214 |chapter=(No) princes of the sea: reflections on maritime terrorism |editor-last2=Krause |editor-first2=Joachim}}</ref>

There are several ways in which illicit goods are smuggled. One method involves forging documents to make a container appear as legal cargo.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Raymond |first=Catherine Zara |date=2006 |title=Maritime Terrorism in Southeast Asia: A Risk Assessment |journal=Terrorism and Political Violence |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=239–257 |doi=10.1080/09546550500383225 |hdl=10220/39829 |issn=0954-6553|hdl-access=free }}</ref> Another method is inserting illegal goods into a legitimate shipment, mixing legal and illegal items together.<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last1=McNicholas |first1=M.A. |title=Drug Smuggling via Maritime Cargo, Containers, and Vessels |date=2016 |work=Maritime Security |pages=207–260 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-12-803672-3 |last2=Draughon |first2=G.R.|doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-803672-3.00007-8 }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> For example, in 2024, several shipments of drugs, either disguised as banana cargo or mixed with legal banana shipments, were discovered in Germany, Greece, Spain and Great Britain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Germany: Hamburg police seize 2 tons of cocaine worth €100M – DW – 09/27/2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-hamburg-police-seize-2-tons-of-cocaine-worth-100m/a-70347569 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Peachey |first=Paul |date=2024-08-06 |title=Greek anti-drugs officers seize cocaine hidden in container ship banana cargo |url=https://www.tradewindsnews.com/containers/greek-anti-drugs-officers-seize-cocaine-hidden-in-container-ship-banana-cargo/2-1-1688064 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=TradeWinds {{!}} Latest shipping and maritime news |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-06 |title=Police seize record cocaine haul in banana shipment in Spain; woman arrested and 2 suspects at large – CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/record-cocaine-haul-banana-shipment-spain/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |publisher=CBS News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Stephen |date=2024-02-23 |title=U.K. police find $568 million of cocaine hidden in bananas, shattering drug-seizure record – CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/568-million-cocaine-hidden-bananas-record-drug-seizure-uk-southampton/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |publisher=CBS News |language=en-US}}</ref> Criminal groups use legitimate fruit businesses as fronts for their narcotics operations, making fruit cargo a common method for concealing drugs.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Decoding the EU's most threatening criminal networks |date=2024 |publisher=Publications Office of the European Union |isbn=978-92-95236-25-7 |editor-last=Europol |location=Luxembourg}}</ref> Trafficking in wildlife parts, such as ivory, frequently involves altering the appearance of the goods. For instance, ivory has been known to be cut into the shape of chocolate bars or painted the colour of wood to avoid detection during X-ray inspections.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rodway |first=Alexander |date=2024-10-30 |title=How giant rodents could rat on wildlife traffickers |url=https://edition.cnn.com/science/giant-african-rat-wildlife-traffickers-spc/index.html |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Additionally, containers can be physically modified to hide illegal parcels, such as through the use of fake walls, secret compartments, hollowed-out rails, support beams and doors.<ref name=":1" />

The lack of capacity at ports to inspect containers increases the likelihood of smuggled goods going undetected. In African ports, especially West Africa, where most drug routes converge, only about 2% of all containers are inspected.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lucia |first=Bird |date=21 April 2021 |title=West Africa's Cocaine Corridor: Building a subregional response |url=https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/west-africas-cocaine-corridor/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=Global Initiative |language=en}}</ref> Similarly, European ports check just 2–10% of incoming containers, leaving the majority unscreened and creating opportunities for trafficking.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Criminal Networks in EU Ports: Risks and challenges for Law Enforcement |url=https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications-events/publications/criminal-networks-in-eu-ports-risks-and-challenges-for-law-enforcement |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=Europol |language=en}}</ref>

Nevertheless, there are a number of security measures in place, notably the [[Container Security Initiative]] (CSI), a post-9/11 US-led programme. This initiative aims to pre-screen high-risk cargo before it reaches US territory. One of its primary goals is to prevent the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Yang |first=Yi-Chih |date=2010 |title=Impact of the container security initiative on Taiwan's shipping industry |journal=Maritime Policy & Management |volume=37 |issue=7 |pages=699–722 |doi=10.1080/03088839.2010.524737 |issn=0308-8839}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Citation |last1=Zhang |first1=Xufan |title=Maritime Security Measures and the Container Security Initiative (CSI) |date=2019 |work=Maritime Container Port Security |pages=13–57 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-03824-3 |last2=Roe |first2=Michael|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-03825-0_2 }}</ref>

Although the programme was initiated by the United States, by 2007, some 20 countries had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the US, leading to the implementation of CSI measures at 58 ports around the world. The CSI system includes non-intrusive pre-screening methods, such as X-ray and radiation screening, for high-risk cargo destined for the United States. As a result, more than 80% of containerised cargo bound for the United States is pre-screened.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

=== Empty containers ===
Containers are intended to be used constantly, being loaded with new cargo for a new destination soon after emptied of previous cargo. This is not always possible, and in some cases, the cost of transporting an empty container to a place where it can be used is considered to be higher than the worth of the used container. [[Shipping line]]s and container leasing companies have become expert at repositioning empty containers from areas of low or no demand, such as the US West Coast, to areas of high demand, such as China. Repositioning within the port hinterland has also been the focus of recent logistics optimization work. Damaged or retired containers may be recycled in the form of [[shipping container architecture]], or the steel content salvaged. In the summer of 2010, a worldwide shortage of containers developed as shipping increased after the recession, while new container production had largely ceased.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.universalcargo.com/blog/bid/49979/Shipping-Container-Shortage-Pushing-Up-Prices |title=Shipping Container Shortage Pushing Up Prices |website=Universal Cargo |date=2010-08-19 |access-date=2011-11-28}}</ref>

=== Loss at sea ===
[[File:Im Orkan, Container über Bord - Nordatlantik im Winter 1980.jpg|thumb|<small>In a [[hurricane]] containers falling overboard – [[North Atlantic]] in winter 1980</small>]]
Containers occasionally fall from ships, usually during storms. According to media sources, between 2,000<ref name=TTlost>[http://www.ttclub.com/TTCLUB/PubArc.nsf/D5E4C4B3A805731980256792004C617E/02CE747115C182F780256A6500596BF5?OpenDocument Containers Overboard!]{{dead link|date=September 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} ''[http://www.ttclub.com/ttclub/public.nsf/html/MGRY-6VLER3?OpenDocument TT Club] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304184259/http://www.ttclub.com/ttclub/public.nsf/html/MGRY-6VLER3?OpenDocument |date=March 4, 2011}}'' (Maritime insurers). Accessed: 26 February 2011.</ref> and 10,000 containers are lost at sea each year.<ref>Podsada, Janice. (2001-06-19) 'Lost Sea Cargo: Beach Bounty or Junk?', ''National Geographic News''.[https://web.archive.org/web/20010703073644/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/06/0619_seacargo.html] Retrieved 2007-04-17</ref> The [[World Shipping Council]] states in a survey among freight companies that this claim is grossly excessive and calculated an average of 350 containers to be lost at sea each year, or 675 if including catastrophic events.<ref name="WSClost">[http://www.worldshipping.org/industry-issues/safety/Containers_Overboard__Final.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827190457/http://www.worldshipping.org/industry-issues/safety/Containers_Overboard__Final.pdf|date=2013-08-27}} ''[http://www.worldshipping.org]'' (World Shipping Council). Accessed: 11 July 2013.</ref> For instance, on November 30, 2006, a container washed ashore<ref>{{cite web |author=© November 30, 2006 |url=http://hamptonroads.com/node/189201 |title=Photos: Spilled Doritos chips wash up on Outer Banks &#124; HamptonRoads.com &#124; PilotOnline.com |publisher=HamptonRoads.com |date=2006-11-30 |access-date=2011-11-28 |archive-date=2011-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213005134/http://hamptonroads.com/node/189201 }}</ref> on the Outer Banks of [[North Carolina]], along with thousands of bags of its cargo of [[Doritos|Doritos Chips]]. Containers lost in rough waters are smashed by cargo and waves, and often sink quickly.<ref name=TTlost/> Although not all containers sink, they seldom float very high out of the water, making them a shipping hazard that is difficult to detect. Freight from lost containers has provided [[oceanographer]]s with unexpected opportunities to track global [[ocean current]]s, notably a cargo of [[Friendly Floatees]].<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rubber-duckies-map-the-world/ "Rubber Duckies Map The World"]  – [[CBS News]] – July 31, 2003</ref>

In 2007 the [[International Chamber of Shipping]] and the [[World Shipping Council]] began work on a code of practice for container storage, including crew training on [[parametric rolling]], safer stacking, the marking of containers, and security for above-deck cargo in heavy swell.<ref name=lash>Murdoch & Tozer. [http://www.standard-club.com/docs/CTCMG2CSAW_disclaimer.pdf A Master's guide to Container Securing] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716130339/http://www.standard-club.com/docs/CTCMG2CSAW_disclaimer.pdf |date=July 16, 2011}} ''[[Lloyd's Register]] & Standard P&I Club''. Accessed: 26 February 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite news | title =Banana box slip a worry | work =Lloyd's List Daily Commercial News | publisher =Informa Australia | date =2008-02-07 | url =http://www.lloydslistdcn.com.au/informaoz/LLDCN/home.jsp?source=fresh | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20051216222205/http://www.lloydslistdcn.com.au/informaoz/LLDCN/home.jsp?source=fresh | archive-date =2005-12-16 | access-date =2008-02-14}}</ref>

In 2011, the [[MV Rena]] ran aground off the coast of New Zealand. As the ship listed, some containers were lost, while others were held on board at a precarious angle.

=== Trade union challenges ===
Some of the biggest battles in the container revolution were waged in Washington, D.C.. Intermodal shipping got a huge boost in the early 1970s, when carriers won permission to quote combined rail-ocean rates. Later, non-vessel-operating [[common carrier]]s won a long court battle with a US Supreme Court decision against contracts that attempted to require that union labor be used for stuffing and stripping containers at off-pier locations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/854/854.F2d.1338.82-1347.87-1370.html |title=854 F.2d 1338, 129 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2001, 1988 A.M.C. 2409, 272 U.S.App.D.C. 129, 57 USLW 2147, 109 Lab.Cas. P 10,681, NEW YORK SHIPPING ASSOCIATION, INC., International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO, Council of North Atlantic Shipping Associations, Atlantic Container Line, Ltd., Dart Containerline Company, Limited, Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft, "Italia" S.P.A.N., Nedlloyd Lines B.V., Puerto Rico Maritime Shipping Authority, Sea-Land Service, Inc., Trans Freight Lines, Inc., and United States Lines, Inc., Petitioners, v. Federal Maritime Commission and United States of America, Respondents. New York Shipping Association, Inc., et al., Petitioners, v. Federal Maritime Commission and United States of America, Respondents, American Trucking Assoc., Inc., American Warehousemen's Assoc., West Gulf Maritime Assoc., National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, Inc., International Association of NVOCCs, et al., Intervenors. Nos. 82-1347, 87-1370. United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. Argued Dec. 17, 1987. Decided Aug. 9, 1988 |publisher=Ftp.resource.org |access-date=2011-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325093543/http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/854/854.F2d.1338.82-1347.87-1370.html |archive-date=2012-03-25}}</ref>

{{anchor|Pests}}

=== As pest vector ===
Containers are often [[infestation|infested]] with [[pest (organism)|pest]]s.<ref name="IPPC-khapra" /><ref name="IPPC" /> Pest [[introduced species|introductions]] are significantly clustered around ports, and containers are a common source of such successful pest transfers.<ref name="IPPC-khapra" /><ref name="IPPC" /> The IPPC [[Sea Container Task Force]] (SCTF) promulgates the [[Cargo Transport Units Code]] (CTU), prescribed [[pesticide]]s and other standards (see {{section link||Other container system standards}}) and recommendations for use in container decontamination, inspection and quarantine.<ref name="SCTF-final" /> The SCTF also provides the English translation of the National Standard of China ([[GB/T 39919-2021]]).<ref name="SCTF-final" />

== Other uses for containers ==
[[File:Container wendy house.JPG|thumb|upright|A converted container used as an office at a building site]]

[[Shipping container architecture]] is the use of containers as the basis for housing and other functional buildings for people, either as temporary or a permanent housing, and either as a main building or as a cabin or as a workshop. Containers can also be used as sheds or storage areas in industry and commerce.

Tempo Housing in Amsterdam stacks containers for individual housing units.

Containers are also beginning to be used to house computer data centers, although these are normally specialized containers.

There is now a high demand for containers to be converted in the domestic market to serve specific purposes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.containexperts.ie/container-conversions/ |title=Container Conversions Containexperts |first=Container Conversions|last=Containexperts|website=containexperts.ie|date=9 January 2018 |access-date=25 March 2019}}</ref> As a result, a number of container-specific accessories have become available for a variety of applications, such as racking for archiving, lining, heating, lighting, powerpoints to create purpose-built secure offices, canteens and drying rooms, condensation control for furniture storage, and ramps for storage of heavier objects. Containers are also converted to provide equipment enclosures, pop-up cafes, exhibition stands, security huts and more.

Public containerised transport<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eubase.net/reports/PCT.html |title=Public Containerised Transport, ways to improve the efficiency and convenience of travel by intermodalizing automobiles |publisher=Nordic Communications Corporation |date=4 January 2013 |access-date=12 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314083116/http://www.eubase.net/reports/PCT.html |archive-date=14 March 2013 }}</ref> is the concept, not yet implemented, of modifying motor vehicles to serve as personal containers in non-road passenger transport.

The ACTS roller container standards have become the basis of [[roller container#Containerized firefighting equipment|containerized firefighting equipment]] throughout Europe.

Containers have also been used for weapon systems, such as the Russian [[3M-54 Kalibr#Launch platforms|Club-K]], which allow the conversion of an ordinary container system into a missile boat, capable of attacking surface and ground targets, and the CWS (Containerized Weapon System)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avmc.army.mil/Success-Stories/CWS/|title=Containerized Weapon Systems|website=avmc.army.mil|access-date=10 Feb 2021|archive-date=16 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116044527/https://www.avmc.army.mil/Success-Stories/CWS/}}</ref> developed for the US Army that allow for the rapid deployment of a remote controlled machine gun post from a container.

== BBC tracking project ==
{{Main article|The Box (BBC container)}}
On September 5, 2008, the BBC embarked on a year-long project to study international trade and [[globalization]] by tracking a shipping container on its journey around the world.<ref name="BBCBoxlaunch">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7600180.stm |work=BBC News| title=The Box takes off on global journey|date=2008-09-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/business/2008/the_box/default.stm|title=BBC – The Box|date=5 September 2008|publisher=BBC|access-date=2008-09-05}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Div col|colwidth=23em}}
* [[2000s energy crisis]]
* [[Conflat]]
* [[Container terminal design process]]
* [[Double-stack rail transport]]
* [[Henry Robinson Palmer]] described an early principle of containerization.
* [[Inter-box connector]]
* [[Intermodal container]]
* [[List of cargo types]]
* [[List of world's busiest container ports]]
* [[Little Eaton Gangway]] 1798
* [[Multimodal transport]]
* [[NYC container]] 1922
* [[Shipping portal]]
* [[Stowage plan for container ships]]
* [[Tanktainer]]s
* [[Unit load]]
* [https://www.unostructures.co/office-container/rectangular-ms-porta-cabin/ Rectangular MS Porta Cabin]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=nb}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|33em|refs=

<ref name="IPPC-khapra">{{cite web | title=200 million reasons to take global action on sea containers to keep khapra beetle out! | website=[[International Plant Protection Convention]], [[Food and Agriculture Organization]], [[United Nations]] | date=2020-12-30 | url=http://www.ippc.int/en/news/200-million-reasons-to-take-global-action-on-sea-containers-to-keep-khapra-beetle-out/ | access-date=2021-01-27}}</ref>

<ref name="IPPC">{{cite web | title=Sea Containers | website=[[International Plant Protection Convention]], [[Food and Agriculture Organization]], [[United Nations]] | url=http://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/capacity-development/sea-containers/ | access-date=2021-01-27}}</ref>

}}

== Bibliography ==
<!-- last updated March 2023 -->
{{Wiktionary|containerization|isotainer}}
{{Commons category}}
{{refbegin|colwidth=33em}}
* {{cite book |last1=Broeze |first1=Frank |author1-link=Frank Broeze |title=The Globalisation of the Oceans: Containerisation from the 1950s to the Present |series=Research in Maritime History, issue 23 |date=2002 |publisher=International Maritime Economic History Association |location=St. John's, Newfoundland |isbn=0-9730073-3-8 |issn=1188-3928 |url={{GBurl|x49HDwAAQBAJ}} }} – a history of containerization in the second half of the twentieth century
* {{cite book |last1=Cudahy |first1=Brian J. |title=Box Boats: How Container Ships Changed the World |date=2006 |publisher=Fordham University Press |location=New York |isbn=0-8232-2568-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/boxboats00bria }} – how container ships changed the world
* {{cite book |last1=Donovan |first1=Arthur |last2=Bonney |first2=Joseph |title=The Box that Changed the World: Fifty Years of Container Shipping – an Illustrated History |date=2006 |publisher=Commonwealth Business Media |location=East Windsor, NJ |isbn=1-891131-95-8 |url={{GBurl|CqYeAQAAMAAJ}} }}
* {{cite book |last=George |first=Rose |author-link = Rose George |title=Ninety Percent of Everything: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate |title-link = Ninety Percent of Everything |date=2013 |publisher=Metropolitan Books / Henry Holt and Co. |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8050-9263-9 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Gibson |first1=William |title=Spook Country |date=2007 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |location=New York |isbn=978-0-399-15430-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/spookcountry00gibs }} – novel set in U.S., in which mystery surrounding a containerized shipment serves as the [[MacGuffin]]
* {{Cite book |last=Levinson |first=Marc |title=The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger |date=2006 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=0-691-12324-1 |title-link=The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger |chapter=(See Chapter 1 here) |chapter-url=http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9383.html |access-date=2018-07-30 |archive-date=2013-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122131825/http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9383.html }}
* {{cite book |last1=Levinson |first1=Marc |title=The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger |date=2016 |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=978-1-4008-8075-1 |edition=2nd |url={{GBurl|vi7FCgAAQBAJ}} |author-mask1=7 |publisher=Princeton University Press |jstor=j.ctvcszztg}}
* {{cite book |last1=Pollak |first1=Richard |title=The Colombo Bay: At Sea in a Dangerous Universe |date=2004 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-7432-0073-X |url={{GBurl|c7HD5GlQnMAC}} }}
* {{cite magazine |last=Taggart |first=Stewart |title=The 20-Ton Packet |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=October 1, 1999 |issn=1078-3148 |url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.10/ports.html }}
* [[ASTM]] D 5728 Standard Practice for Securement of Cargo in Intermodal and Unimodal Surface Transport
* {{cite web | url = http://www.export911.com/e911/ship/dimen.htm | title = Container Dimensions and Capacity | publisher = Export 911 | access-date = 2003-06-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030604103214/http://export911.com/e911/ship/dimen.htm | archive-date = 2003-06-04 }}
* {{cite web | url = http://www.containerhandbuch.de/chb_e/ | title = Container Handbook | publisher = German Insurance Association | year = 2006 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://hazmat.dot.gov/pubs/erg/erg2004.pdf |title=Emergency Response Guidebook |year=2004 |publisher=Transport Canada, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Secretariat of Communications and Transport of Mexico |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060208045754/http://hazmat.dot.gov/pubs/erg/erg2004.pdf |archive-date=2006-02-08 }} – a guidebook for first responders during the initial phase of a dangerous goods/hazardous materials incident
* {{cite web | url = http://www.walshsurveyor.com/ships/articles/container-transportation/index.htm | title = Introduction to Container Transportation | access-date = 2010-08-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100906204716/http://www.walshsurveyor.com/ships/articles/container-transportation/index.htm | archive-date = 2010-09-06 }} – A good pictorial introduction to containers
* {{cite web | url = http://www.aapa-ports.org/Industry/content.cfm?ItemNumber=900 | title = Port Industry Statistics | publisher = American Association of Port Authorities }}
* {{cite web | url = http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/containe/inhalt1.htm | title = Transport Information Service: containers | publisher = German Insurance Association }} – types, inspection, climate, stowage, securing, capacity
{{refend}}

{{Intermodal containers}}
{{Freight cars}}
{{ModernMerchantShipTypes}}
{{Container shipping companies}}

[[Category:Intermodal containers]]
[[Category:Economic globalization]]