【正文】 x, 20 feet long, 839。6 feet high and 8 feet wide, or 1 Twentyfoot Equivalent Unit (TEU). Since the great majority of containers are now forty foot long, the term Fortyfoot Equivalent Unit (FEU) is also used, but less monly.Post Panamax Containership at the Port of Le HavreTerminal de l39。Ocean is one container terminal in the Port of Le Havre, France, that is partially owned by the maritime shipping pany MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company). When this photo was taken, the MSC Diego, built in 1999 and a typical Post Panamax containership with a capacity of just over 4,000 TEU, was being serviced. The vessel is 260 meters long, 32 meters wide and has a beam of 19 meters. Very large cranes are required to transship its containerized cargo, which is 13 containers wide.40Foot Containers Doublestacked on a Rail CarDouble stacking rail services were first introduced in North America in 1984, multiplying the productivity of inland container shipping. Until recently, North America remained the only region of the world where double stacking services were possible. In April 2004 doublestack container train services using 40 foot boxes between Shanghai and Beijing were launched. Both cities can be serviced in about 38 hours.20Foot Container on TruckThe 20 foot container was the first intermodal container unit to receive wide acceptance as it was set as an ISO standard. Although for many supply chains, particularly those concerning retail, the 40 foot container tends to be privileged, there is still a substantial market for the 20 foot container. Weighty modities as best moved in 20 footer loads. container(1) Main Physical Characteristics of ContainersTypeCubic CapacityTare WeightPayload WeightGross WeightLength / Width / Height20 Footer cubic meters (1,170 cubic feet)2,150 kg 2,220 kg (4,740 lb 4,894 lb)21,850 kg 28,160 kg (48,171 lb 62,082 lb)24,000 kg 30,480 kg (52,911 lb 67,197 lb) m / m / m (20’0 / 839。0” / 839。6”)40 Footer cubic meters (2,391 cubic feet)3,720 kg 3,740 kg (8,201 lb 8,245 lb)26,760 kg 28,760 kg (58,996 lb 63,405 lb)30,480 kg 32,500 kg (67,197 lb 71,650 lb) m / m / m (4039。0” / 839。0” / 839。6)40 Footer High Cube cubic meters (2,700 cubic feet)3,730 kg 3,950 kg (8,223 lb 8,708 lb)26,750 kg 28,550 kg (58,974 lb 62,942 lb)30,480 kg 32,500 kg (67,197 lb 71,650 lb) m / m / m (4039。0” / 839。0” / 939。6)40 Footer High Cube Reefer cubic meters (2,391 cubic feet)4,810 kg (10,604 lb)29,190 kg (64,353 lb)34,000 kg (74,957 lb) m / m / m (4039。0” / 839。0” / 939。6”)45 Footer High Cube cubic meters (3,055 cubic feet)4,740 kg (10,450 lb)28,280 kg (62,350 lb)33,020 kg (72,800 lb) m / / m / m (4539。0” / 839。0” / 939。6”)48 Footer High Cube cubic meters (3,489 cubic feet)5,140 kg (10,865 lb)25,340 kg (56,350 lb)30,480 kg (67,197 lb) m / m / m (4839。0” / 839。6” / 939。6 1/2)Source: adapted from APL, Equipment SpecificationsThe above table underlines several options in container size. Many shippers prefer to use the largest load unit possible (. 40 footer high cube) because it conveys economies of scale. However, weight restrictions can make the 20 footer a desirable option, particularly for the transport of modities. For instance, the weight restrictions on both the regular and the high cube forty footers are at around 30 short tons (or 28 metric tons), essentially the same than a 20 footer, so there are no gains in using a high cube container for ponderous goods. Payload weight even gets smaller with 45 and 48 foot containers, underlining their specific role for the transport of goods that are bulky but paratively light. The majority of container are made with weathering steel (Corten steel) which prevents rusting. (2) Carrying Capacity of Containers (in cubic feet)Source: adapted from Robert C. Leachman (2005) Port and Modal Elasticity Study, Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, University of California at Berkeley. The initial container sizes were the 20 footer and the 40 footer agreed upon in the 1960s and became an ISO standard. Initially, the 20 footer was the most widely used container. However, as containerization became widely adopted in the 1990s, shippers switched to larger container sizes, notably the 40 footer. Larger sizes confer economies of scale in loading, handling and unloading, which are preferred for long distance shipping as well as by customers shipping large batches of containerized modities. The same ship capacity would take in theory twice as much time to load or unload if 20 footers where used instead of 40 footers. There is thus an evident rationale to use the largest container size possible. Consequently, the 20 footer is gradually been phased out. Hi cube containers have also been put in use, notably since they do not require different handling equipment or road clearance. They are one feet higher (939。6) than the standard 839。6 height and a 40 footer hicube container provides about 12% more carrying capacity than its standard counterpart. Most North American double stack rail corridors can handle two stacked hicube containers, creating an additional multiplying effect in terms of total capacity per rail car. The 53 feet hicube container is solely a domestic container used in the United States between rail and trucking.The European Union is trying to implement a new container labeled the European Intermodal Load Unit (EILU), which would have a length of 45 feet and a width of feet. The rationale behind this standard is that it would allow two of the standard European pallets to be placed in containers side by side as existing containers are based on North American pallet dimensions. While the new dimensions would still meet clearances for road and rail transport in Europe as well as abroad, the EILU is being strongly opposed by maritime shipping lines, because they have huge investments i