What is Dry Container?
A dry container is the most common type of intermodal containers used in the global transportation system. It is a standardized container of steel construction. The term “dry container” is often used interchangeably with terms such as “ISO container”, sea van, Conex box or container van.
Application of Dry Container
Dry containers are used to ship about 90% of the world’s goods that travel by ocean, truck or rail transport systems. While there are a variety of other types of containers designed to haul liquids, perishable goods and odd sized cargo, dry containers are designed to haul dry freight such as goods packaged in cardboard or palletized configurations.
Sizes of Dry Container
The most popular sizes of dry containers are 20 foot and 40 foot long. There are other modifications to these basic shapes such as 45 foot containers designed to utilize standard tractor trailer applications common in the United States North America. 10 foot applications are also available in limited quantities. The standard height of these dry containers are 8 feet, 6 inches with the exception of the “high cube” variants that are 9 feet 6 inches high. The outside dimensions of these dry containers are 8 feet wide. The term “TEU” or twenty foot equivalent is used to describe the cargo carrying capacity of ocean going ships.
History
Containerised shipping is a relatively recent development in the global logistics industry. They were first conceived as a system for shipping goods by ocean , truck and rail in the 1950’s. Sealand, an American based shipping company, is generally considered the originator of the standardised configurations in use today. Before then, almost all cargo was managed as “break bulk” cargo that needed to be loaded and unloaded each time the cargo moved from one type of transportation to another. Standardised containers greatly reduced the amount of labor involved in moving goods from one destination to another.
Today
With upwards of 15 million plus containers circulating in the world today, one would be hard pressed to find a home or business that doesn’t have the majority of its contents delivered via a dry container. Managing the positioning of this many containers throughout the different ports in the world is an ongoing problem that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. This has been causing delays in shipping schedules as well as huge backlogs of containers piling up in certain ports.
Finding the right size and configuration for your specific type of cargo can be a challenge. Pricing of different sizes of containers can often be driven by availability as well as ship routings. For the best value when purchasing transport for your goods, the professionals at Eagles air & Sea are standing by to advise and support your logistics strategy. We are available 24/7 either by email at sales@eagles.com or call our phone +662 790 4599.
