I was told that on intermodal containers that container 40’ or less is for international shipping and anything larger is strictly for domestic purposes. Is this right?
Thanks for the replies in advance.
That is my understanding and observation as I have never seen reporting marks of Ocean carriers on any container longer than 40 feet. As info…Container Ship capacity is measured in the trade by the TEU measure…Twenty foot Equivalent Unit. While that is today’s world…it could change tomorrow.
If you look at the maximum weight capacities for 20 foot, 40 foot, 48 foot and 53 foot containers…they all have virtually the same load capacity.
20, 40, & 45 foot containers are used for international shipping and 48 & 53 foot are used for domestic,(US, Canada, & Mexico). The complexities of shipping would probably fill a book, but from my personal experiences I can tell you that just because it is an international box, that doesn’t mean it’s destined overseas. In Pittsburgh, until the brewery closed a few years ago, they shipped to California using K-Line 40 foot boxes.The only thing I can say for sure is that domestic boxes never go overseas.The factors involved in choosing a box size include but are not limited to how much cargo it takes to fill the cubic capacity, (ie: cement is heavier than DVD players). Note that most highway dry vans are usually 53ft for volume and flatbeds, which carry more concentrated cargo, are commonly only 48ft long. There is also customer requirements. If an order is for only 20,000lbs of material and it fits into a 20 footer, then there’s no need for a 40ft box. I hoped this helped a little.
Oh it did. Thank you very much.
what are the differences of height and width of international vs. domestic/?? Another reason domestics do not go overseas?? Also are some RR lines able to transport double stack internaionals but not domestics??
All of the domestic containers I have seen are 8’ 6" wide by 9’ 6" high external dimensions. International containers are usually 8’ wide by either 8’ 6" or 9’ 6" high. 20 foot boxes are usually only available as 8’ 6" high due to the way they mount on a chassis. That keeps them under the 13’ 6" highway maximum height. Not all rail routes are cleared for duoble stacks. Two 8’ 6" boxes stacked require 19 feet of overhead clearence and two 9’ 6" boxes would need 21 feet. I think those are the correct requirements. Container ships are designed to hold only international boxes and the below deck area is built around a 40ft box or two 20’s end to end. There was a very good show on Discovery Channel,( I think), that showed the construction of a ship for Maersk-Sealand. Between History, Discovery, TLC, & National Geographic channels there are at least a dozen programs that describe the equipment and methods for shipping containers, trucking, and railroads. I hope this helped a little.
Further as to why domestic boxes stay domestic (well, more accurately, within North America)… there are several reasons: First, container control. JB Hunt and the like would have a devil of a time getting their containers back from Nairobi! Secondly, size. The container dimensions are not necessarily compatible with ships, and roadways and chassis pools in other countries. Which leads into point Three: construction standards. Marine containers are sometimes called ISO boxes, ISO meaning International Standards Organization. The boxes are built to strict international standards for dimensions, materials and strength. Those boxes take a beating on ships, and can be stacked pretty high (not sure of the limit)… an ISO container has to be able to withstand being on the bottom of the stack. Domestic containers are not built to ISO standards; it’s all about size (bigger is better) and weight (lighter is better). As they are not as strong, they are subject to stacking restrictions in container yards, typically three-high unless the stack is empty. So ships can’t use 'em. Domestic containers being purchased today come from China and are made of corrugated steel. Ironically, they are shipped to the US empty (actually some with carry nested chassis inside).
Hope that helps!
Here is an article about International 53’ containers. http://www.sdcexec.com/web/online/FulfillmentLogistics-News/APL-Moves-Groundbreaking-53-foot-Ocean-capable-Containers-into-the-Market/29$9993 Here is APL’s information about them. http://www.apl.com/equipment/html/equipment_specs_standard.html#53HC
Yes and no.
The common international sizes are 20, 40, and 45 foot. For illustration of how common, in 2008 the ports represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (all the major ports in California, Oregon and Washington), which handle about half of all the containerized traffic into and out of the U.S., the proportion of containers was 71.3% 40-foot, 22.2% 20-foot, 6.2% 45-foot, and 0.3% all others. In different areas the proportions are different. For example, for containers with either their origin or destination in the Caribbean basin, it’s about 60% 40-foot and 40% 20-foot, with almost no 45-foot boxes.
In the domestic U.S. market, dry containers smaller than 53-foot are almost entirely retired or are laid-up. There are 20-foot, 40-foot, 45-foot, and 48-foot refrigerated, platform, flatrack, and bulk/tank containers in domestic trade.
In some cases, international containers with inland destinations are reloaded with domestic freight and unloaded at a West Coast port, prior to either returning empty onto the ship, or being reloaded with freight at a West Coast port. This is fairly uncommon as it increases the turn time on the container, which the container line does not like. Think of it this way: in the Orient, the container line usually has a container shortage, whereas in the U.S. the container line usually has a container surplus. Increasing the turn time does nothing but increase the surplus side of the equation while starving the shortage side of the equation. Very often the container line will refuse any backhaul cargo in the box, especially if it requires a repositioning, because it either adds time on the U.S. end, adds time on the Asian end (particu
Thank you everyone for the responses. I really appreciate it.