Shipping container in the context of Crate

Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers, or ISO containers). Containerization, also referred as container stuffing or container loading, is the process of unitization of cargoes in exports. Containerization is the predominant form of unitization of export cargoes today, as opposed to other systems such as the barge system or palletization. The containers have standardized dimensions. They can be loaded and unloaded, stacked, transported efficiently over long distances, and transferred from one mode of transport to another—container ships, rail transport flatcars, and semi-trailer trucks—without being opened. The handling system is mechanized so that all handling is done with cranes and special forklift trucks. All containers are numbered and tracked using computerized systems.

Containerization originated several centuries ago but was not well developed or widely applied until after World War II, when it dramatically reduced the costs of transport, supported the post-war boom in international trade, and was a major element in globalization. Containerization eliminated manual sorting of most shipments and the need for dock front warehouses, while displacing many thousands of dock workers who formerly simply handled break bulk cargo. Containerization reduced congestion in ports, significantly shortened shipping time, and reduced losses from damage and theft.

Saint John (French: Saint-Jean) is a seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of George III. The Port of Saint John is Canada's third-largest by tonnage with a cargo base that includes dry and liquid bulk, break bulk, containers, and cruise. The city has a strong industrial base, including oil refining and manufacturing, as well as significant finance and tourism sectors and research institutions such as the New Brunswick Museum and the University of New Brunswick. Saint John was the most populous city in New Brunswick for more than 230 years until the 2016 census, when it was overtaken by Moncton. It is currently the second-largest city in the province, with a population of 69,895 over an area of 315.59 km (121.85 sq mi).

French explorer Samuel de Champlain landed at Saint John Harbour on June 24, 1604, the feast of St. John the Baptist, and named the Saint John River in his honour; the indigenous Mi'kmaq and Wolastoqiyik peoples called the river "Wolastoq". The Saint John area was an important location for trade and defence in Acadia during the French colonial era, and Fort La Tour, in the city's harbour, was a pivotal battleground during the Acadian Civil War.

A unit load device (ULD) is a container used to load luggage, freight, and mail on wide-body aircraft and specific narrow-body aircraft. It allows preloading of cargo, provided the containerised load fits in the aircraft, enabling efficient planning of aircraft weight and balance and reduced labour and time in loading aircraft holds compared with 'bulk-loading' single items of cargo or luggage by hand. Each ULD has its own packing list or manifest so that its contents can be tracked. A loaded aircraft cargo pallet secured with a cargo net also forms a ULD, but its load must be gauged for size in addition to being weighed to ensure aircraft door and hold clearances.

The IATA publishes ULD regulations and notes there are 900,000 in service worth more than US$1 billion, averaging $1100 each.

An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, or a freight container, (or simply "container") is a large metal crate designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different modes of transport – such as from ships to trains to trucks – without unloading and reloading their cargo. Intermodal containers are primarily used to store and transport materials and products efficiently and securely in the global containerized intermodal freight transport system, but smaller numbers are in regional use as well. It is like a boxcar that does not have wheels. Based on size alone, up to 95% of intermodal containers comply with ISO standards, and can officially be called ISO containers. These containers are known by many names: cargo container, sea container, ocean container, container van or sea van, sea can or C can, or MILVAN, or SEAVAN. The term CONEX (Box) is a technically incorrect carry-over usage of the name of an important predecessor of the ISO containers: the much smaller steel CONEX boxes used by the U.S. Army.

Intermodal containers exist in many types and standardized sizes, but 90 percent of the global container fleet are "dry freight" or "general purpose" containers: durable closed rectangular boxes, made of rust-retardant weathering steel; almost all 8 feet (2.4 m) wide, and of either 20 or 40 feet (6.1 or 12.2 m) standard length, as defined by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 668:2020. The worldwide standard heights are 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m) and 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 m) – the latter are known as High Cube or Hi-Cube (HC or HQ) containers. Depending on the source, these containers may be termed TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), reflecting the 20- or 40-foot dimensions.

A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane. Many pallets can handle a load of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). While most pallets are wooden, pallets may also be made of plastic, metal, paper, and recycled materials.

A pallet is the structural foundation of a unit load, which allows handling and storage efficiencies. Goods in shipping containers are often placed on a pallet secured with strapping, stretch wrap or shrink wrap and shipped. In addition, pallet collars can be used to support and protect items shipped and stored on pallets.

This article lists the world's busiest container ports (ports with container terminals that specialize in handling goods transported in intermodal shipping containers), by total number of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) transported through the port. The table lists volume in thousands of TEU per year. The vast majority of containers moved by large, ocean-faring container ships are 20-foot (1 TEU) and 40-foot (2 TEU) ISO-standard shipping containers, with 40-foot units outnumbering 20-foot units to such an extent that the actual number of containers moved is between 55%–60% of the number of TEUs counted.

The latest ranking reflected the figures for the year 2025, as published in the Lloyds List Top 100 and World Shipping Council (2025 figures), unless otherwise indicated.

A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on trucks (US) or bogies (UK) at each end. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry extra heavy or extra large loads are mounted on a pair (or rarely, more) of bogies under each end. The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads. Flatcars designed for carrying machinery have sliding chain assemblies recessed in the deck.

Flatcars are used for loads that are too large or cumbersome to load in enclosed cars such as boxcars, but which will not be harmed by the weather. They are also often used to transport intermodal containers (shipping containers) or trailers as part of intermodal freight transport shipping.

A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture) and can be used for a variety of purposes, from functional to decorative.

Boxes may be made of a variety of materials, both durable (such as wood and metal) and non-durable (such as corrugated fiberboard and paperboard). Corrugated metal boxes are commonly used as shipping containers.

A bucket is typically a watertight, vertical cylinder or truncated cone or square, with an open top and a flat bottom that is attached to a semicircular carrying handle called the bail.

A bucket is usually an open-top container. In contrast, a pail can have a top or lid and is a shipping container. In non-technical usage, the two terms are often used interchangeably.

A twistlock or twist lock, together with matching corner castings, as defined in norms including ISO 1161:1984, form a standardized (rotating) connector system, for connecting and securing intermodal, and predominantly ISO-standard international shipping containers. The primary uses are to securely stack containers, for locking them into place on a container ship, semi-trailer or rail carriage, and for lifting and handling by specific container-handling equipment, like straddle carriers, reach stackers, container-handling forklifts, sidelifters, and various types of container cranes.

Twist-locks also have to be used when stacking containers shorter than 40 feet (12 m) together with 40‑foot and longer containers. Containers shorter than 40 feet containers must be joined together horizontally with twist-locks, to form a rigid combined whole 40 feet in length, to make them stackable and be able to support and be supported by an ISO standard 40- or 45‑foot container stacked underneath or above them.

A manifest, customs manifest or cargo document is a document listing the cargo, passengers, and crew of a ship, aircraft, or vehicle, for the use of customs and other officials. Where such a list is limited to identifying passengers, it is a passenger manifest or passenger list or bag manifest; conversely, a list limited to identifying cargo is a cargo manifest or cargo list, or a container manifest for cargo in a container. The manifest may be used by people having an interest in the transport to ensure that passengers and cargo listed as having been placed on board the transport at the beginning of its passage continue to be on board when it arrives at its destination.

In this way, a cargo manifest is like a passport except that it is used for goods instead of (or in addition to) persons; the manifest is evidence to the nationality of the goods, the absence of contraband, and that property belonging to belligerents is not laden on board of the vessel.

Package cushioning is used to protect items during shipment. Vibration and impact shock during shipment and loading/unloading are controlled by cushioning to reduce the chance of product damage.

Cushioning is usually inside a shipping container such as a corrugated box. It is designed to absorb shock by crushing and deforming, and to dampen vibration, rather than transmitting the shock and vibration to the protected item. Depending on the specific situation, package cushioning is often between 50 and 75 mm (2 and 3 in) thick.