One of the most amazing things about the modern age is the speed which we can ship items from one side of the globe to the other. If you've ever shopped online and ordered a product from one of your favorite stores, you might be surprised to see a list of all the places it traveled to on its journey to your home. A pair of headphones you ordered from an online retailer may travel all the way form China to your home in the Midwestern or Eastern United States all in a matter of days.
This is accomplished through many different kinds of shipping methods but especially through something called intermodal freight shipping. Intermodal freight shipping is the transportation of freight using in an intermodal container, or a reusable transport container, through several methods of shipping including by rail, ship, or truck. The intermodal container makes it possible for the shipment to go through several changes of shipment method without the individual handling of the freight.
Intermodal shipping has a long and vibrant history, starting with the earliest shipping methods by land and also be sea. Intermodal shipping even pre-dates the railway. In 18th century England, some of the earliest types of intermodal shipment containers were used to ship coal down the Bridgewater Canal on boats. These containers, known as "loose boxes," were later used on the railway system to ship coal by rail. In the 1920s shipping containers were standardized in the United Kingdom in order to be carried on standard container flats.
Pallets were used during World War II to ship items between warehouses, which allowed faster transfer between ship, trucks, trains, and aircraft because the individual freight did not require any handling. This also resulted in discount shipping rates. Around this time, truck trailers could be shipped by rail which also expedited shipping times.
Today intermodal freight shipping containers have a dimension that has been defined by the International Organization for Standardization and are therefore sometimes referred to as ISO containers. They are constructed of durable steel and can be stacked on top of each other. On trains it is common for intermodal freight containers to be stacked two-containers high, which is referred to as "double stacking." On cargo ships it is more common to see stacks of shipping containers up to seven units high.
These intermodal freight containers have revolutionized the shipping industry. Because this method employs minimal cargo handling, security is improved and risk of damage and loss are greatly reduced.
Author Resource:
InXpressUSA (http://inxpressusa.com/) customer receives unparalleled service along with the reliability from the top carriers in the industry, discount shipping . Art Gib is a freelance writer.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")