The intermodal container can be referred to by other names such as a box, high-cube container, ISO container, freight container, sea box, container and conex box. These units are manufactured from standardized reusable steel. They offer safe and secure and effective storage for moving supplies all around the globe via a international containerized intermodal freight system.
"Intermodal" is a term which refer to the container which can be moved between one kind of transport to another. Intermodal can refer from a ship to truck or ship to rail, without having to reload and unload the container's contents. A few of the container lengths which have a unique ISO 6346 reporting mark on them range from 8-feet or 2.438 m to 56 feet or 17.07m. These units are as high as 8 feet or 2.438 m to 2.9 m or 9 feet, 6 inches. It is estimated that there are roughly 17 million intermodal containers of different kinds to suit a variety of cargoes within the globe.
These containers can be transported by semi-truck trailer, container ship and freight trains. They could also travel numerous distances without having to be unpacked. At container terminals, they are transferred between modes by container cranes. Usually a reach-stacker is employed to transfer from a flat-bed truck to a rail car. These units are secured during transportation by a range of "twistlock" points situated at each corner on the container.
Each container is outfitted with a specific BIC code or bin identification code that is painted on the outside in order to take care of identification and tracking. These units are capable of lifting objects ranging about 20 to 25 tonnes.
When utilizing rail transport, the containers could be carried on flatcars or on well cars. Well cars are especially designed for transport by containers. They can safely and efficiently accommodate double-stacked containers. The loading gauge of a rail system could actually limit the specific modes of the shipment and the types of container shipment. Like for instance, the smaller loading gauges which are usually found in European railroads will only handle single-stacked containers. In some countries such as the United Kingdom, there are some sections of the rail network that cannot accommodate high-cube containers, unless they can utilize well cars only.
These containers are made to last and are used to travel extreme distances. They are re-used with companies and can lift an enormous amount of cargo. These containers are responsible for moving numerous of the stuff we depend on everyday around the world.