Most Common Shipping Container Types you Must Know | LOTUS Containers

LOTUS Containers Group
3 min readNov 21, 2020

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Shipping containers are known as the indisputable king of the logistics and supply chain and their invention has given the world a new life. The world before the advent of these steel boxes was definitely on the urge to grow and evolve but the growth was taking place at a very slow pace. The invention of shipping containers dates back to 1956 when an American truck entrepreneur, Malcolm McLean, stood firm on the old said quote- ‘Necessity is the Mother of Invention’. There are certain shipping container types that every shipper must know about.

Malcolm McLean noticed people waiting for hours and days to load their goods on the deck. McLean considered the loading of each cargo separately on the deck as a foolish idea and thought why not load the entire truck at one go. No one believed the velocity of his thought at that time but that very silly idea later gave rise to a more economical and customized transportation of freight over long roaring seas with much ease. Intermodal transportatio n was also reformed with the shipping container industry being a major source of revenue for the world economy.

Ever since its invention, the shipping container industry has evolved to a great extent giving shippers and businesses a plethora of different shipping container types. These have not just given the world options to choose from but have made the possibility to transport anything. From machines, construction materials, foods, chemicals, toxic materials to even biological products like organs and blood, each product now has dedicated categories and dimensions.

Laying down the list of the top 12 different shipping container types you must know:

Open Top: These got the name open-top because their roof is made up of tarpaulin instead of a solid ceiling. The roof can be opened and goods can be loaded from the top through a crane and forklift. The open-top container is perfectly suited for those cargoes that are extra in height and those goods which cannot be transported into any other freight container.

Bulkers: These containers are specifically designed for the transportation of goods like grains, malts, coffee beans, sand, etc. The goods are loaded via a small opening on its roof and discharged via small hatches below the doors.

Tankers: Tankers have given away liquid and gaseous cargoes that cannot be transported in any other container. They carry products ranging from oils, gases to hazardous chemicals. They comprise a container frame and an integrated tank vessel and the liquids that are shipped in tank containers are discharged via a valve outlet.

These are the major shipping container types that one needs to know about before they decide on which cargo unit is the best fit for your shipping container requirements. LOTUS Containers is a container supplying company that provides you superior quality shipping containers on sale and lease and you can make a choice that suits you best.

Originally published at https://shipping-container-for-sale.blogspot.com on November 21, 2020.

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LOTUS Containers Group

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