Blog - worldshippingcontainers.com

Metal plates, cube-shaped, usually seen in yards, on ships or “left alone” in a corner of a firm: that’s the way we’re accustomed to seeing containers, cold and inanimate, only used for industrial purposes.

Who would have ever thought that a light ‘make-up’ would have transformed them into real objects of art and/or containers for art?

This has just happened in Genoa, Bologna and Bergamo.

The latest news refers to Bergamo, where a container used for naval purposes and abandoned some five years ago has been done up and transformed into a lounge area dedicated to relaxing.

But above all, containers have become objects of art.

It is exactly because they’re easy to transport that containers are becoming more and more a mean to communicate with people living in small and big towns, counties and villages around big cities.

In Bologna, the Container has become a real mobile lab, aimed at presenting the new way art approaches to metropolitan areas and landscapes.

Recently, Genoa hosted the “ContainerArt”, the first itinerant exhibition of contemporary art gathering paintings, videos, sculptures by innovative artists, and all this was contained in tens of containers laid in squares, streets and parks of the city.

The so-called “container art” is a form of art that is gaining momentum in Italy, thanks to different factors that mark its features.

It is a kind of art that can quickly reach out to everyone exactly because of the mobility of its “museum”, i.e. the container. Furthermore, even though containers were created to contain things, at the same time and thanks to their external faces they can become objects of art themselves.

We might as well define them as enormous three-dimensional paintings, containing more art!

Determining Cubic Metres or CBM is the first step you should take in determining how to ship your cargo. You don’t want to be shipping FCL cargo as FCL Groupage cargo nor do you want to be shipping FCL Groupage Cargo as FCL, unless obviously you have reached or exceeded the break-even point of your cargo which I teach in the section FCL vs FCL Groupage.

The CBM of a consignment is always calculated

L x W x H

e.g. 3,20 x 2,45 x 1,56

= 12,23CBM

For Seafreight shipments, the idea is to calculate CBM in metres. If you have 320cm’s
then convert it to 3,2metres before starting the calculation.
If you have 45cm’s then your formula will have 0,45metres.

A 20ft General Purpose or dry container will pack a maximum of 33,2CBM whilst a 40ft General Purpose or dry container will pack 67,7CBM.

A 40ft High Cube which will allow you more space to pack and will pack a maximum of 76,3CBM.
All of the above are subject to your line of commodity and how it is packed.

40ft General Purpose containers and High Cube containers are only to be used for larger volume cargo and not larger weight cargo. In my article on cargo weights and road weight limitations, I discuss this point further.

Also to bear in mind is the length of your cargo, you can’t pack 13 metre steel pipes in a 40ft General Purpose container as it is only 12,036metres in lenght. The proper equipment will be required in this case.

For airfreight shipments, the method that the airline industry uses is the
Volume / Weight.

If you have 5 boxes that identical in size that are 23cmx34cmx56cm (LxBxH)
Presume that the actual weight of each of the 5 boxes is 10kgs.

What you will have to do first is separate the Volumetric from the Actual Weight.

Volumetric Weight Actual Weight
(23×34x56) div 6000 10kgs per box
= 43792 div 6000
= 7,30kgs per box

For 5 boxes : 7,30 x 5 For 5 boxes : 10 x 5

=36,5kgs =50kgs

The true weight needed to be declared to the airline here will be the actual weight
of the boxes of 50kgs.

Shipping containers are basically used for temporary storage of goods while it is being transported from one place to another. These containers are made out of different materials and are designed differently to fit different usages. These come in different sizes and weights as well.

Dimensions: The different lengths of shipping containers are – 10 feet, 20 feet, 30 feet, and 40 feet. The width is 8 feet. Heights are either 8.5 feet or 9.5 feet.

It is important that one understands the terms when talking about shipping containers. There are three words you must understand. First, there is the shipping container’s rating. Rating is the maximum weight permissible for the shipping containers plus its contents. Then we have the tare mass or tare weight. This is the weight of the empty container under normal operating conditions. Then the payload – that refers to the total weight that a shipping container can carry. In the actual scenario though, the payload maybe less as there are some areas that have laws governing the maximum load a vehicle could carry.

These shipping containers have stickers that show its rating, tare weight and payload. Also a sticker showing the identification code is also placed outside and inside the container walls. The identification codes of these shipping containers would show the owner of the containers and the container numbers. These data will be used in the bill of lading for better monitoring, control and tracing of the container and its cargo.

Shipping containers are generally classified into two groups. First we have the general purpose or dry cargo container, which is the most common container used in the industry. It is built strong and is waterproof. One of its sidewalls usually has a door. The second group would be the special cargo containers. Such would be the tank containers, which are used for transporting chemicals, and the thermal containers that are used for goods such as meat, fruits, etc.

Whatever your needs are, the various shipping containers available can address your shipping container needs. Depending on the goods you plan to transport, have the shipping containers that are fit for it. The shipping companies will usually handle this for you, but it is always better to ask what shipping containers they will be using for your case. With some knowledge about these you are better ensured of getting the right shipping service and shipping containers for your goods.