Container shipping is the most economical transportation mode for your cargo. Fitted on ships, trains and trucks, the humble container redefined international shipping and allowed global trade to expand to the levels we know today. Which container type is the most suitable for your cargo? Is it large enough to fit? The Freight Forwarding Experts take stock of the most common equipment types, so you can make the right decision.
The idea of a shipping container first came from England at the close of the
18th century. The early iteration of the
container did not resemble their modern counterparts. The containers were rectangular wooden
boxes, mostly used to
transport coal.
The first modern intermodal shipping container, as we know it today, came to existence in
1955 in the U.S. When Malcom
McLean, together with engineer Keith Tantlinger, developed a module made of corrugated
steel. The structure allowed for
movement using cranes and stacking them on top of each other.
On April 26, 1956, the Ideal X tanker, converted into a container ship for the occasion, made its first voyage from Newark, New Jersey to Houston, Texas. After the development of containers, the lack of common standards became problematic, as various container sizes and systems remained in use for the two following decades. Clear sizing requirements for each container type were subsequently agreed upon and enforced through the ISO standard. As a consequence, shipping containers are often referred to as ISO containers. Containers all require a valid
