Common sense of container freight: size and volume
Containers are widely used in the transportation of import and export goods. Here are some common knowledge about container freight:
1. Container (container)
The so-called container refers to a large-scale cargo container with a certain strength, rigidity and specification for turnover. Using containers to transfer goods can be directly loaded in the consignor’s warehouse and transported to the consignee’s warehouse for unloading. There is no need to take the goods out of the container and reload when changing vehicles or ships midway. According to the type of goods loaded, there are general cargo containers, bulk containers, liquid cargo containers, reefer containers, etc.; according to manufacturing materials, there are wooden containers, steel containers, aluminum alloy containers, FRP containers, stainless steel containers, etc.; according to structure , There are foldable containers, fixed containers, etc., fixed containers can also be divided into closed containers, open top containers, slab containers, etc.; according to the total weight, there are 30 tons of containers, 20 tons of containers, 10 tons of containers, 5 Tons of containers, 2.5 tons of containers, etc.
2. Container's overall external dimensions
The largest external length, width, and height dimensions of the container including the permanent accessories of the container. It is the main parameter to determine whether the container can be exchanged between ships, chassis cars, trucks, and railway vehicles. It is an important technical information that each transportation department must master.
3. Container's internal dimensions (container's internal dimensions)
Maximum length, width, and height inside the container. The height is the distance from the bottom surface of the box to the bottom of the top plate, the width is the distance between the two inner liners, and the length is the distance from the inner panel of the door to the inner liner of the end wall. It determines the internal volume of the container and the maximum size of the cargo in the container.
4. Container's unobstructed capacity (container's unobstructed capacity)
The loading volume calculated according to the internal dimensions of the container. Containers of the same specification have slightly different internal volume due to different structures and manufacturing materials. The internal volume of a container is an important technical information that the material department or other packers must master.
5. Container calculation unit (twenty-feet equivalent units abbreviation: TEU)
Also known as the 20-foot conversion unit, it is the conversion unit for calculating the number of containers. At present, most container transportation in various countries uses two kinds of containers, 20 feet and 40 feet long. In order to make the calculation of the number of containers uniform, the 20-foot container is used as one calculation unit and the 40-foot container is used as two calculation units to facilitate the unified calculation of the container operation volume.
6. Container leasing (container leasing)
That is, a business in which the owner leases empty boxes to the user. The owner of the container is the leased party of the container, and the user, generally the shipping company or the owner of the container, is the leased party, and both parties sign a lease contract. The qualified container provided by the lessor shall be used by the lessee within the agreed scope. There are many different methods of container leasing in the world, which can be summarized as: voyage charter, time charter, current charter, and traffic zone lease.
7. Container terminal (container terminal)
It is the specific handling department for container or cargo handling, exchange and storage in container transportation. It is entrusted by the carrier or its agent to conduct the following businesses:
Exchange and custody of FCL freight;
If there is a container freight station, handle the handover of LCL cargo;
Arrange the berthing of container ships, load and unload containers, and prepare stowage plans for each voyage;
Handle the compilation and signing of relevant shipping documents;
Compile and sign the relevant documents for the entry, exit and circulation of the container using the means of transport;
Handle the inspection and maintenance of containers, vehicles and loading and unloading tools, as well as cleaning and fumigation of empty containers;
Receiving, storage and custody of empty boxes;
Arrange the stacking of empty and heavy containers at the yard, and prepare a site distribution plan;
Other related business work.
The container loading and unloading area is generally composed of dedicated docks, frontiers, storage yards, freight stations, command towers, repair departments, gates and offices. Sometimes the storage yard or freight station can be extended to the transfer station within 5-15 kilometers of the urban area.
