Transportcontainer

The most important and best-known transport container for trade shipping is the 40-foot container. Manufactured according to the international standard ISO 668, these transport containers measure 12.192 × 2.438 × 2.591 m, commonly known as "freight containers".

Over 15 million transport containers are in circulation worldwide. Around two thirds of international trade is carried by container ships.

Versatile and practical in use

(left: /transport solutions text: Transport containers have a standardised shape) so that they can be used worldwide without any problems. This enables easy handling and transport by a variety of transportation means such as sea and inland waterway vessels, railways or trucks.

Another common type of transport container is the 20-foot container, which measures 6.058 × 2.438 × 2.591 metres. Such a container can hold some 20,000 watches in their original packaging or 10,000 pairs of jeans. An ordinary transport container has a service life of about 12 to 13 years.

Different shapes for different purposes

In recent years, most transport containers have been manufactured in China. At peak times, the production volume was around 3 million TEU per year, which, however, decreased enormously as a result of the global financial crisis.

The transport containers are adapted to their later transport purpose during production. In addition to conventional transport containers for goods transport, there are also waste containers, air freight containers or special containers for nuclear waste transport.