Trade and commerce through the shipping has been an important form of transport of goods from one part of the world to the other. In addition, it still is and would remain to be such. For the shipping of goods from one place to the other, they are transported in the big containers made from steel or aluminum. These containers are the backbone of the shipping industry and they account for 90 % of the total cargo that is transported through the ships.

The shipping containers are of different types according to the purpose for which they are used. Some of them are as under.

The dry freight containers as the name suggests are used for the transport of the dry cargo. They are further classified according to their sizes. The common sizes are 10 – 3 meters, 20 – 6 meters, or the 40 ft – 12 meters etc.

The tank containers are used for the transportation of liquids or liquefied gases. They comprise of a skeleton frame and a tank. The frame supports the tank. They also have the proper provisions as fixtures for loading and unloading. These fixtures may work on gravity or pressure.

Refrigerated containers are used for the transport of food items. They are equipped with refrigeration facilities and in addition to this; they are airtight and therefore hygienic. They are available with either or freezer or cooler compartment, or both. They are very widely used for in the fishing industry.

Accommodation containers are the container homes or offices. They can be ordered as per the requirements.

These containers have made shipping of the cargo very comfortable. They strong and durable and they are moisture proof. Therefore, the moisture-laden air of the sea does not affect the cargo. While using them the different good are first loaded into smaller containers and then these smaller containers are packed in these containers.

The automatic systems have evolved for the loading and unloading them with the cargo. Moreover, they are also automatically loaded and unloaded in the ship with the help of machines. Thus they are easy to handle and they save on the labor required and therefore on the cost of the transport. Due to all this factors, they also provide better security for the cargo.