Intermodal containers are also called many other names. Some of the most common alternate names include: ISO container, box, sea can, high-cube container, freight container, conex box, and container. These units are made from standardized reusable steel. They offer safe and secure and efficient storage for moving supplies all around the globe via a international containerized intermodal freight system.
"Intermodal" is a word that means the container which can be moved between one kind of transport to another. Intermodal may mean from a ship to truck or ship to rail, without having to unload and reload the contents of the container. Some of the container lengths that have a unique ISO 6346 reporting mark on them vary from 8-feet or 2.438 m to 56 feet or 17.07m. These units are as high as 2.438 m or 8feet to 2.9 m or 9 feet, 6 inches. It is estimated that there are about 17 million intermodal containers within the globe of different kinds to suit a range of cargoes.
These containers can be transported by container ship, freight train and semi-truck trailer. They could also travel numerous distances without having to be unpacked. At container terminals, they are transferred between modes by container cranes. A reach-stacker is usually employed to transfer from a flat-bed truck to a rail car. These models are secured during transportation by a range of "twistlock" points located at each corner on the container.
Each container is equipped with a specific BIC code or bin identification code which is painted on the outside to be able to take care of identification and tracking. These models could carry objects ranging approximately 20 to 25 tonnes.
For transport on rails, the container could be carried on flatcars or on well cars. Well cars have been designed specifically for use by intermodal containers. They can efficiently and safely accommodate double-stacked containers. The loading gauge of a rail system can actually limit the specific modes of the shipment and the kinds of container shipment. Like for example, the smaller loading gauges which are usually found in European railroads will only handle single-stacked containers. In some nations like the United Kingdom, there are some sections of the rail network that cannot accommodate high-cube containers, unless they can use well cars only.
These containers are made strong enough to last through the numerous travels across extreme distances. These containers are reused by businesses and are able to transport large amounts of cargo. These containers are responsible for transporting numerous of the items we depend on everyday around the globe.