Modern Containerization

By Craig Ellyard Platinum Quality Author

Containerization is an efficient method of moving goods either inland, overseas or across national borders. The goods are put in large intermodal containers, sometimes known as freight and shipping containers that can be carried by road, train or on ships. The system is extremely flexible as the shipping units can be switched from freight lorry to railway to ship without having to be unloaded. This is done by special cranes and saves greatly on labour costs.

The success of modern containerization has been greatly helped by the setting of standards that allow container freight to be shipped all around the world. These standards have been set by the International Organization for Standardization - the ISO. Units that meet these standards are often referred to as ISO containers.

Containerization has greatly helped world trade as it simplifies the movement of goods around the world and makes the carriage of freight much easier and far more cost effective than it used to be. Because the use of standard freight units has made transportation of cargo much cheaper this has had a hugely beneficial effect on world markets and has done much to help trade between nations.

The use of shipping containers pre-dates the twenty first and even the twentieth centuries. During the late 18th century coal was loaded into transportation boxes, the forerunner of the modern container, before being moved by canal boat. And by the 1830s containers, very small by today's standards, were being carried on the newly built railways.

With more and more cargo being shipped it was recognised that a successful containerization system needed a degree of standardisation to ensure containers could be used by different carriers. By the 1920s the British rail system introduced the Railway Clearing House, leading to the birth of the RCH container which could be carried by the various rail companies in the country. The United States followed a similar course with the various rail networks introducing a standard unit,leading to the birth of the boxcar.

The move towards what would eventually become standard containerization throughout the world was sparked by the American military. The Department of Defense introduced standard sized units to improve the loading of ships. The American military called them transporters, and they could carry anything up to 9,000 lbs.

By the early 1950s the Danes had begun to use special ships to carry containers. The Americans followed suit and the worlds first specially adapted container ship, the Clifford J Rodgers, was introduced.

The introduction of containerization worldwide was helped by a series of standards set by the ISO between 1968 and 1970. The extent that modern containerization has revolutionised world trade is demonstrated by the statistic that 90 per cent of non-bulk cargo travels around the world in shipping containers.

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