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Source: Adapted from OECD (2005) DSTI/DOT/MTC(2005)5/REV1, The role of changing transport costs and technology in industrial relocation. Note: 2 TEU per 1 FEU. Freight rate of $1,383 per TEU based on average spot freight rates between 2010 and 2019 for Shanghai-Europe and Shanghai-US West Coast trade routes. The cost relations

Source: Notteboom, T. and J-P Rodrigue (2009) “The Future of Containerization: Perspectives from Maritime and Inland Freight Distribution”, Geojournal, Vol. 74, No. 1, pp. 7-22. Within global production networks, the container is concomitantly a transport, production, and distribution unit. Transport unit. Irrespective of what it carries, a container is a

Photo: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2018. The verification of the container identification code is done at the entry and/or exit of a terminal gate. The process uses the Container Identification System to ensure that the right container gets picked up or delivered. On the above photo, an operator is manning a verification

The container identification system is an ISO standard (ISO 6346) composed of a sequence of letters and numbers. In the above photo, this identification is displayed on the top right part of the container: The operational characteristics of the container are also commonly displayed. They include the maximum gross weight,

Photo: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2010. Containers are increasingly used as an architectural design unit since they are prevalent in the modern landscape. The above housing units are entirely made of regular containers that have been stacked in a manner similar to a terminal. They are used as student housing units

Photo: Dr. Grant Saff, 2006. Once a container has completed its useful life of about 12 years, often because it is damaged and judged to be no longer suitable to carry cargo, several outcomes are possible. The most common is the container to be scrapped and the materials recycled. On

Photo: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2006. Refrigerated containers represent a growing share of the containerized traffic handling temperature-sensitive agricultural products and seafood. While a regular containership has several slots that can be used to house reefers (require electric power supply), there are also specialized containerships designed specifically to carry reefers. They

Photo: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2010. The transport of liquids such as chemicals or potable foodstuff (juices, oils) is a niche market that requires specialized containers. Tank containers only come in a dimension of 20 feet because of the higher weight to volume ratio liquids have. A 40-foot tank container would

Photo: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 1992. Containers have shown some capability to use standard transport modes, notably maritime. In this picture, a cargo ship not designed to handle containers unload part of its load in a fluvial barge in the port of Shanghai, which has also not been designed to handle

Even if containerization conveys numerous advantages to freight distribution, it does not come without challenges. The main advantages of containerization are: Standardization. The container is a standard transport product that can be handled anywhere in the world (ISO standard) through specialized modes (ships, trucks, barges, and wagons), equipment, and terminals.