Containerization for air, sea and land (rail and truck freight)

Containers are the generic carriers of goods which can be loaded onto any vehicle or type or transport, such as an ocean cargo ship or a trailer tractor (a semi trailer) and are the standard option when transporting goods or material over longer distances. Rail, Trucking and shipping (air and sea) transportation is now designed to be able to carry a variety of containers all over the world, and the containers themselves have been standardized in terms of capacity, material and size for ease of use and handling all over the world. This standardization of containers also helps customs officials inspect and clear goods for shipment.

Container transportation

For transportation today, there are ISO standards as to the size and weight of containers, and this standard is defined in accordance with the type of transportation being used to ship the containers. In addition to the set standard for containers, in the modern transportation market, there is a variety of options for transporting any quantity of goods (loads which partially fill one container or loads filling several containers at a time) to any location across the globe, where freight forwarding agencies and end-to-end shipping services offering comprehensive shipping services at highly competitive rates.

It is best to consult a freight forwarding company for advice, price quotes and services for your transportation needs as such companies specialize in freight transportation and cargo management to destinations domestically and internationally, and can provide the best advice in terms of cost effective shipping routes for specific types of cargo..

ISO standards for containers

Air freight:

Air containers are typically designed for the aircraft which will carry then, as each aircraft type has its own custom design features which affect its cargo space and weight balancing ability. Designers have in recent years have been designing container holds which conform to certain standards and the IATA (International Air Transport Association) has identified a set of standards relative to container types. Some of the common examples are;

Type A containers: LD-1, LD-2, LD-3 with a load capacity of 2700 and 3500 lbs.

Rectangular containers: LD-4, LD-5 with a load capacity of 5400 to 7000lbs.

Type B containers: LD-6,LD-8 with load capacities of 5400 and 7000lbs and LFD-29 with a capacity of 13300lbs.

Land and sea freight:

There are five types of standard containers. These are measures in TEU (twenty foot equivalents- that is, the equivalent capacity of a standard 20 foot or 20 foot high-cube / half height container). For example, the maximum gross mass for a 20 foot cargo container is 30,480 kg, and 34,000 kg for a 40 foot container, whether high-cube or not, as height is not considered in this categorization.
The five standard container types are; 20 foot, 40 foot, 45 foot, 48 foot, and 53 foot and include the variants such as high-cube and half height container types.

References:
Wikipedia[dot]com
www[dot]ic[dot]gc[dot]ca/eic/site/ts-sdc.nsf/eng/fd00264.html
www[dot]fastfreightquotes[dot]com/freight-services/freightequipmenttypes.php