These are some of the more important standards that relate to any ISO container used for shipping: In addition, there are freely available definitions for both container structures and components. An ISO container is a type of freight container that meets the relevant ISO container standards.Freight containers that meet ISO specifications should be both easy to fill and empty and they should have an internal volume of at least one cubic meter. It should also be fitted with devices that will make it easy to handle and to transfer from one type of transportation to another. A freight container is intended for permanent and repeated use and should be designed specifically to facilitate transportation of goods.These include the accepted definition of an ISO container and of a freight container. While the vast majority of containers are categorized for general purpose use, there are separate standards for reefers – an insulated shipping container that is also refrigerated – and other even more specialised units.Īll ISO standards are available for purchase and they cannot be accessed unless paid for, although there are some “informative sections” of the ISO standards that are available publicly.

There are a number of different standards that specify standards for shipping container design.

These shipping container design standards cover everything from size to the quality of steel used for construction, as well as the allowed gross weight of the ISO container. Known as intermodal containers, the standard steel boxes used for mobile storage across land and sea are made according to strict specifications established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that develops and publishes international standards for just about everything.

Iso shipping container construction