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What All can We Transport in a Shipping Container? | LOTUS Containers

Shipping containers are just large size cuboid-shaped boxes that you might have noticed in huge numbers either on the deck of the ships or being hauled by a long whistling train or traveling alone at the back of the truck. Looking at them, some of you might wonder what would be inside the box. The safety and care with which they are being carried bring to us more curiosity to figure out what could be moving inside it.

Well, ever since the invention of shipping containers, they have been used to carry numerous types of products. The answer to- ‘What all can we transport in a shipping container’ could be winded up in a single word-‘everything’.

Why was it necessary to invent something like this?

Before the birth of shipping containers, trade between countries was extremely arduous, impractical, unsafe, and restricted due to several reasons. Goods were packed in sacks, drums, buckets, barrels, and had to be loaded and unloaded manually (using hand). Loading of 100,000 individual packets of cargo would take up to 2 to 3 days. Not only this, the cargo after leaving the port wasn’t enough safe. Sacks, buckets, barrels, drums could not withstand the harsh weather. Encountering extreme climatic condition most of the cargoes would get destroyed during the transition. The goods that were left after the attack of pirates and robbers then finally used to reach the port of destination.

Remembering all this, history pays a big tribute to McLean Malcolm for his visionary idea that led to the invention of the shipping containers.

Ever since then, the container became one of the important components to keep the trade profitable and prosperous between the countries. Initially, the container could only carry certain types of goods. Later the discovery of different types of containers led to the seamless transportation of almost all types of goods.

Today, the container has the capability to carry everything you see around you. From the flowerpots, TVs, bed, sofa, fruits, dairy products, meat, blood, oil machines, to automobiles, they leave no area untouched- and that what makes them versatile.

To make it simpler, here I am categorizing my answers1. Dry Cargoes: Dry cargo includes many things- from machines, grains, furniture, to wood but still not all dry cargoes are carried in a similar kind of box. Big size dry cargo is mostly carried in dry van, side door, double door, or open-top while small size goods like grains, sand, coffee beans are carried in bulkers. Bulker is a type of container that has hatches on its top for injection and holes at the bottom for unloading.

2. Perishable Goods: Perishable goods like dairy products, meat, fish, medicines, organ, and blood were very challenging to transport until the invention of refrigerated containers (reefers). Reefers are just like a big sized fridge. They are of the size of standard shipping containers, but they have a temperature control device attached to them enabling them to maintain temperature for longer days. Temperature-sensitive goods like fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy are transported via reefers.

3. Heavy Size Cargo: Heavy size goods like machinery, industrial equipment, construction materials, automobiles are best transportable on either flat rack or platform containers.

They are specifically designed for such goods because most of the goods protrude the standard dimension of the shipping boxes.

4. Liquid Cargoes: Transporting liquid cargoes demands extreme care especially during the transition. A type of container called tankers is used to transport almost all types of fluid materials- from oil, petroleum, water to hazardous chemicals. Even gaseous cargoes are also shipped via tankers.

The only thing that could not be transported via shipping containers was human beings. But with time, the man proved it wrong by bringing the idea of constructing prefab houses from shipping containers. Now even people have started to live inside the container-built house which is portable and mobile.