How to Identify a 40-Foot Shipping Container Without Measuring
Finding a shipping container's size without measuring is actually quite simple. You just read the container code painted on the container's side. All shipping containers, including 40-foot containers, are required to display their model-specific number on their side panels for ease of transportation. The number allows port workers in any country to know a container's dimensions so they can account for its size in port planning.
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Things You'll Need
- Binoculars or telephoto lens on camera (optional)
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO) container code chart
Instructions
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Locate the container information label on a side of the container. If you are far away, use binoculars or a telephoto lens on a camera. The label has black lettering on a white background most of the time, but that format may depend upon the container's country of origin and owner.
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Find the four-digit alphanumeric code that is by itself on the label. That code usually is the biggest code on the label. Its first two characters are numbers, the third character is a letter and the last character is a number.
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Write down the four-digit alphanumeric code. If you want to know the size of all the containers in a stack, you need only one label's code because only the same size of containers can be stacked on each other.
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Compare the alphanumeric code to an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) container code chart. Such a chart is available for free at port master offices. The chart provides the container size as well as its type, such as refrigerated, liquid or dry.
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References
- Photo Credit cargo ship with containers image by JoLin from Fotolia.com
