Shipping Container Types

People sometimes forget that there is a whole other world outside the shipping industry that has no idea what they need in order to ship their cargo from one end of the world to the other. Beyond the documents, finding the right type of container can be a challenge for the novice shipper. To get started, it begins with the commodity. Is it one piece? Does it require refrigeration? Are there several components? The basics start with the standard steel dry containers in either 20' or 40' with about an 8' width and lengths can be up to 53' long. Then there are variations including containers that have open tops and refrigeration as well as flat racks for out of gauge cargo. Open tops accommodate both loading large items into a container as well as allowing tall items to be containerized that normally would be too large. This type is great for loading a large item into a container even if the piece is not going to stick out the top. This way a crane can lift the cargo into the container. The one major thing to consider for this is weight limitations. The other closed type of container is a refrigerator container, also known as reefer containers in case your cargo is in need of cooling. If the cargo being shipped is not going to fit in a container at all, there are flat racks that can accommodate within certain dimensions or a tween deck for particularly out of gauge cargo. No matter what a person is trying to ship, there is a container that can accommodate if that's what the shipper requires. It just may take a minute to figure out which is right for you.