Comments on: Transportation – Part 4: The Marine Challenge – Containers and Ports https://techsomogro.com/transportation-part-4-the-marine-challenge-containers-and-ports/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=transportation-part-4-the-marine-challenge-containers-and-ports Science, Technology and the Future Sat, 12 May 2012 15:42:05 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 By: lenrosen4 https://techsomogro.com/transportation-part-4-the-marine-challenge-containers-and-ports/#comment-48 Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:11:30 +0000 http://21stcentech.wordpress.com/?p=590#comment-48 Tom Stitt. Hi Tom, Thank you for the information on the evolution of containers. My interest in container technology is predicated by the larger transportation and movement of goods globally with the container being the base unit in which things get shipped. I recognize that the application of high-tech surveillance technology for the most part represents overkill and is largely being driven by the Department of Homeland Security in the United States. The technology being deployed, however, is very interesting because it has other potential uses and as the century progresses I will speculate on what those will be. I invite you to visit this site as often as you like and comment on any of the content. If you have sites or links you can point me to around the issue of container transportation I'd welcome your expertise. My next blog article will look at rail transportation in the 21st century describing trends, new technology and speculating on where we are headed.]]> In reply to Tom Stitt.

Hi Tom,
Thank you for the information on the evolution of containers. My interest in container technology is predicated by the larger transportation and movement of goods globally with the container being the base unit in which things get shipped. I recognize that the application of high-tech surveillance technology for the most part represents overkill and is largely being driven by the Department of Homeland Security in the United States. The technology being deployed, however, is very interesting because it has other potential uses and as the century progresses I will speculate on what those will be. I invite you to visit this site as often as you like and comment on any of the content. If you have sites or links you can point me to around the issue of container transportation I’d welcome your expertise. My next blog article will look at rail transportation in the 21st century describing trends, new technology and speculating on where we are headed.

]]> By: Tom Stitt https://techsomogro.com/transportation-part-4-the-marine-challenge-containers-and-ports/#comment-47 Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:12:56 +0000 http://21stcentech.wordpress.com/?p=590#comment-47 Hi Len,

Enjoyed discovering your blog and reading this post. Look forward to reading the next post.

A few issues worthy of debate:
-most shipping containers made of Coreten steel are treated to prevent rust (the current methods and materials used to prevent rust are not especially friendly to the environment but new materials and methods are showing promise)
-most shipping containers get retired from commercial maritime use long before rust becomes an operational issue (the forces that containers experience tend to drive retirement or re-use, not rust)
-except for very high value, sensitive or dangerous cargo, having real-time information about cargo location or container location, is of limited interest to container fleet owners (and hard to monetize with supplemental freight rates)
-steel containers get screened at ports now using scanning technology-composites won’t change the scanning technology and scanning won’t identify many threats (e.g. biologicals)
-scanning isn’t a particularly effective cargo screening method though it creates a sense of security and often identifies improperly declared cargo

There are a number of companies (Staxxon, Holland Container Innovations, Compact Container Systems, Foltainer and Cargoshell) developing folding/nesting alternatives to standard dry 20′ and 40′ shipping containers. The commercial opportunity is to reduce empty container “moves” (also called touches) and the space occupied by empty containers. Reducing space, moves and costs associated with empty containers can reduce direct and indirect carbon footprints for containerized movement of goods but the initial adoption driver will be commercial advantages.

Happy to provide more information if there is interest.

Tom Stitt
[email protected]
+1.650.523.4944

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