Term of the Day: Intermodal Container

An intermodal container (also known as container, freight container, ISO container, shipping container, hi-cube container, box, conex box and sea can) is a standardized reusable steel box.

It is used to store and move materials and products in the global containerized intermodal freight transport system.

The word “Intermodal” indicates that the container can be moved from one mode of transport to another (from ship, to rail, to truck) without unloading and reloading the contents of the container.

Lengths of containers vary from 8 feet (2.438 m) to 56 feet (17.07 m) and heights from 8 feet (2.438 m) to 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 m).

Today there are approximately over seventeen million intermodal containers in the world, of varying types to suit different cargoes.

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World Maritime News Staff, October 2, 2014; Image: Wikimedia