A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes.

[edit] Types of shipping containers

[edit] Intermodal freight containers

A railroad car with a 20 ft tank container and a conventional 20 ft container

Freight containers are a reusable transport and storage unit for moving products and raw materials between locations or countries. There are approximately seventeen million intermodal containers in the world and a large proportion of the world's long distance freight generated by international trade is transported inside shipping containers.

[edit] Corrugated box

Corrugated boxes are commonly used as shipping containers. They are made of corrugated fiberboard which is light weight, recyclable, and strong enough to ship a variety of products.

[edit] Wooden box

Wooden boxes are often used for shipping heavy and dense products. They are sometimes specified for shipments of government or military shipments.

[edit] Crate

A crate is a large container, often made of wood, used to transport large, heavy or awkward items. A crate has a self-supporting structure, with or without sheathing.

[edit] Intermediate bulk shipping container

A typical IBC

An Intermediate bulk container (IBC) is a container used for transport and storage of fluids and bulk materials. The construction may be plastic, composite, steel, stainless steel, etc. Some are foldable (collapsable).

Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container

A Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container, FIBC , big bag, bulk bag, or super sack is a standardized container in large dimensions for storing and transporting and storing granular products. It is often made of a woven synthetic material.

[edit] Drum

Example of steel drum

Drums are cylindrical shipping containers made of steel, plastic or fiber. They are often used for liquids and granular materials.

[edit] Insulated shipping containers

Insulated shipping containers are a type of packaging used to ship temperature sensitive products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. They are used as part of a cold chain to help maintain product freshness and efficacy.

[edit] Unit load device

A "LD3-45" unit load device on a trailer.

A Unit Load Device, or ULD, is a container used to cargo on commercial aircraft.

A ULD can be a pallet or container used to load luggage, freight, and mail on wide-body aircraft and specific narrow-body aircraft. It allows a large quantity of cargo to be bundled into a single unit. Since this leads to fewer units to load, it saves ground crews time and effort and helps prevent delayed flights. Each ULD has its own packing list, manifest, or tracking identification to improve control and tracking of contents.

[edit] Specialized shipping containers

A container for shipping weapons, with carrying handles

Custom containers are used for shipments of products such as weapons and aviation components. Customized cushioning, blocking and bracing, carrying handles, lift rings, locks, etc. are common to facilitate handling and to protect the contents. Often, these shipping containers are reusable.

Transit and Flight Case

Flight cases and transit cases are usually custom designed for shipping and carrying fragile equipment: audio visual, camera, instruments, etc. Although generally light in construction, they tend to have reinforced edges and corners.

Road Case

Road cases are often used for shipping musical instruments and theater props.

[edit] See also

• Packaging
• Logistics
• Spent nuclear fuel shipping cask
• Nuclear flask

[edit] References

• Design Criteria for Specialized Shipping Containers, US DoD, Mil-Std 648C, 1999
• ASTM Shipping Container Standards and Related Technical Material, 5th edition, 2007, ASTM
• McKinlay, A. H., "Transport Packaging", Institute of Packaging Professionals, 2004
• Brody, A. L., and Marsh, K, S., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 1997, ISBN 0-471-06397-5