Shipments of goods in the maritime sector: International shipments of goods that operate in maritime transport are most often carried out via containers. These containers are made in standard sizes corresponding to shipping standards on ships, thanks to which they can be transported over even very long distances. Sea containers have many advantages in transport. They can allow goods to be moved without the need to open between the two means of transport. Standardized shipping containers have transformed the shipping industry by making it much easier to transport, by rail, road and ship, as the containers can be placed in different transport formats. The standardization of the containers has helped increase efficiency and economies of scale in the transport that passes through marine transport systems each year, from paint cans to animals such as zebras. However, many people are probably wondering how the means of transport via sea containers got into circulation at all.
History of containers used during transport.
Contemporary container shipping celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006. The use of this method of freight transport has grown steadily since almost the first voyage. In just five decades, container ships began to carry as much as 60% of goods shipped via sea containers. The idea of using a shipping container was not entirely new. Crates similar to shipping containers that we know of today were used for horse and rail transportation in 1792. The US government used small standard containers during the Second World War, which proved to be an excellent way to quickly unload and distribute. In 1955, Malcolm P. McLean, a truck haulier from North Carolina, USA, bought a steam company to transport entire trucks with a load.
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He realized that a much faster method of transport would be to pack one large container, which would eliminate the need for long loading processes from one box to several more. Since then, people have started to practice the use of large size industrial containers. The containers could be easily moved between ships, trains and even trucks, which greatly simplified the entire logistics process. Ultimately, the implementation of this idea led to a revolution in industrial transport over the next 50 years.
More about sea containers in today’s transport.
A logical step during the soon popularization of transport via sea containers was to standardize their sizes. Thanks to this practice, the containers could be stacked, and the cranes, ships and trains that were intended for transporting the containers could be specially constructed in a way that allowed for the optimal storage of containers of uniform size.This standardization was finally applied throughout the industry. Nowadays, the width and length of sea containers are most often standardized, which has been adopted by the global sea and land transport industry. Precisely in 1961, one standard size was established, which still applies to container sizes. The two most used sizes these days are 40 feet and 20 feet, which translates to about 12 and 6 meters. The 20-foot container has become the industry standard design today. On the other hand, a 40-foot container is the most frequently chosen counterpart during long transports.
Worldwide logistics relies heavily on shipping via sea containers.
The largest international ports provide special cargo spaces adapted to handling containers. This is due to the enormous popularity and convenience of unloading when using this means of transporting goods. Some ports have become so-called nodes, i.e. areas with the highest concentration of containers on domestic or international routes. Especially on the roads leading through Asia, Eastern Europe and North America. In transport logistics, one of the most important roles is played by the centers that handle the handling and unloading of transported sea containers. However, not only large transport logistic nodes are of great importance, but also seaports, airports or inland ports, which very often act as main gateways for the import and export of loaded goods.
All in all, there is an extremely wide range of containers used according to the specificity of the goods. Refrigerated containers , cisterns, flat racks or open tops. Each of them has a different role to play in developing the right strategy for a good transport logistics process.
