How Container Shipping Works and When Custom Shipping Containers Are Necessary

1. May 21, 2018 How Container Shipping Works and When Custom Shipping Containers Are Necessary Have you ever wondered how a furniture made from a certain country in Europe or Asia made it to a shopping mall in Houston where you bought it from? You’re probably thinking it was loaded on a ship, picked up from the port, and delivered to the store. Well, you’re quite right about the process, but there are so much more to it. A lot of other steps in between, particularly container shipping, are just as crucial. Here’s a glimpse of how container shipping works. Page | 1

2. Order Placement A manufacturer overseas promotes their business to find retailers based in the U.S. and other countries who may be interested in supplying their products to the consumers. Interested suppliers will contact the manufacturer to place an order. The manufacturer will then contact the freight forwarder they are working with to pick up the ordered products from their factory. To save time and money, the freight forwarder will normally pick up orders from more than one supplier to maximize the space in the container. Trucking Depending on the volume of products to be picked up for trucking and on what the manufacturer and freight forwarder have agreed on, the container that the latter will mount on the truck may be 10, 20, or 40 feet long. All products must be carefully packed and strategically loaded into the container to have them ready for shipping. In some cases, certain products require unconventional way of trucking and shipping, custom shipping containers may be used. Before the truck leaves the factory, the container has to be bolted shut and fitted with a high- security seal. It will be opened again by the freight forwarder assigned to collect, sort, and deliver the products to the retailers who ordered them. Documentation Manufacturers usually pay freight forwarders to take care of logistics until the products arrive at their destination. The freight forwarder will therefore be responsible for making the necessary arrangement with a container shipping line and produce all legal documents the original and receiving countries may require for the delivery. Shipping As soon as the containers are handed over to the container shipping line and cleared, they are immediately prepared to be loaded onto the ship along with other shipping containers delivered by other freight forwarders. To further streamline the process, some freight forwarders set up their own container shipping line to do away with extra tasks during the clearing and documentation processes. Page | 2

3. Unloading and Distribution As soon as the ship arrives at its destination, the containers are carefully unloaded onto the dock and loaded onto the trucks the freight forwarders sent to pick them up. The containers will then be delivered to the retailers, suppliers, and distributors that ordered the products contained in them. Then the retailers will carefully unwrap the products for display in their stores for the consumers to pick and buy. All key players in the shipping process—factory, freight forwarder, and container shipping line—desire one thing: the products arrive at their destination safely. To achieve that, they need to use high-quality shipping containers. This is why they partner with the country’s leading shipping container suppliers, such as Equipment Management Services. Operating the largest off-dock shipping container maintenance and storage facilities in Houston, EMS can definitely meet, if not exceed, their expectations. About Equipment Management Services: EMS takes pride in operating over 80 acres of off-dock shipping container maintenance and storage facilities in the US Gulf region. We are a one-stop shop for all your container shipping needs. Our units are certified high-quality inside and out. Even our used units are well-maintained and guaranteed seaworthy. If you are shipping products that have special storage needs, we can modify our shipping containers to comply with your requirements. Source: CONTAINER SHIPPING IN TEN STEPS, worldshipping.org Page | 3