Speed Up The Export And Import Of Goods With A Freight Forwarding Service
Intermodal freight transport is the term used to describe the transportation of good using a
variety of means, such air, road, rail or sea. It also covers the movement of good between these modes of transportation.
One of the most effective methods for ensuring that goods are transported well, are kept away from the elements, and arrive exactly in the condition they departed is by containerization.
International shipping containers can be used as a convenient method of transportation and can be sealed at the point of departure so that tampering with goods is not possible during transit. At the starting point of the journey containers are loaded, and transported on railroad cars, or using container trucks. They are a necessary part of sea transportation, and allow for efficient loading and transport on container ships, where every inch of transportation space is utilised.
International shipping containers are governed by the International Organization for Standardization to ensure that each container fits perfectly on railroad cars and trucks, increasing the efficiency of transport and lowering transportation costs.
The standardization of container sizes enabled purpose built container ships to be constructed to carry vast cargoes around the world. This procedure revolutionised the cargo industry, and now 90% of the world’s non-bulk cargo is transported on container ships.
Uniform container sizes and corner fittings mean that containers to be easily transported around the world, and fixed internal dimensions allow for accurate billing. There are 5 standard container sizes, based around a standard TEU measure. One TEU represents a twenty foot equivalent unit, and is the smallest of the standard container sizes. This signifies a 20 foot by 8 foot container, although the convention does not stipulate container height. They are designed to carry a maximum dry cargo weight of 30,480 kg. The other 4 standard sizes are 40 ft, 45 ft, 48 ft, and 53 ft in length.
In the USA, domestic container transportation predominantly utilises the larger 48 foot and 53 foot containers for rail and road transportation.
Despite the additional security provided by containers they are occasionally lost, especially at sea in high storms. Estimates suggest that as many as 10,000 containers are lost at sea each year, and whilst this is, if you excuse the pun, a drop in the ocean when compared to the billions of TEU units being transported each year, it is a significant loss. Containers do not always sink, and are occasionally washed up on the shore, however it is the semi submerged containers in the open sea that are the biggest concern, which are extremely hazardous to ships.
Despite potential damage and loss, container shipping offers one of the most cost effective methods of intercontinental freight distribution.