Engineering360: "Don't Ignore Shipping Container Codes"

In theory, you're totally right; no argument. The problems are in the implementation. It's not easy to standardize (who knows how many) local methods to a global standard, without external monetary/technical help.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my opinion about why the rail system is so "obsolete". Their roads are from the beginning of train-time, while the trains have evolved without improvement of the roads. Each new version of train was designed to run on the old roads, to maintain "compatibility". The fact is, the current trains have outgrown their roads. The only way to truly update the rail system is to design a totally new one from scratch, starting with a "spine" from border to border. The new system (by necessity, would not be compatible with the old, except by transfer-stations/depots). The old system could be re-used as subsidiary branches from the spine (and gradually phased out by attrition, if needed).

Container standards face a similar problem. Global standards require an upgrade/update of many local systems. And that's very difficult without outside help.

As someone who has actually been to the port ( port of Long Beach / port of Los Angeles ) and has picked up containers ( Cans ) some of the information here is accurate, some is not.

A driver goes into the port, ( this usually means that the driver is going to a container terminal, i.e. Cosco, LBCT, etc ) stops at a " pedestal " picks up a handset and tells the shipping office information, ( carrier, container number & load number ) then the pedestal spits out a card ( kind of like the one you get at a toll booth ) the card may or may not say what length chassis is needed for the container ( terminals are run like a little fiefdom where every king runs his show the way he wants to ) the card will say that the container is on a " row " and it is in a " stack " .

So the driver goes to the " pool " to look for a chassis, sometimes there is a chassis there, sometimes he has to wait for one to come in ( this could take several hours ) , so he gets a chassis and sees it needs repair, but he takes it rather than waiting longer for another one, then he looks for the row and the stack, he gets there but finds out that the crane operator is on lunch and there is only one crane operating that day because the other crane is broke down, when lunch is over ( usually 2 hours ) the yard man ( a guy that drives a pick up truck all day ) tells the driver that container is a Hanjin and the chassis that the driver has is an APM , so the driver has to go back to the pool to find a Hanjin chassis ( remember the card that was spit out at the pedestal, it just said a 40 ft chassis, it didn't say it had to be a particular one ) , so another 2 hours looking for a Hanjin chassis, now the driver thinks he has got it made, he's got the right chassis, so he goes back to the row and the stack, by now it's break time ( another hour or so ) then he waits for the crane and the yard man comes again and tells the driver that the container is not in the stack but is still on the ship and they don't know when it will be off loaded

So the driver has spent the better part of 5-7 hours puttzing around for a container that wasn't even ready to ship.

This is only part of the " efficient " system in place.

This next part is not a knock on longshoremen or unions in general. Part of that " efficiency " lies with how the union does it's job. Remember in the movie, " Cool Hand Luke " where the guard looks at luke and says : Luke, why is your dirt in boss man's ditch ? Luke then proceeds to take his dirt out of boss man's ditch and put it on boss man's yard, about an hour later the guard looks at luke and says : Luke why is your dirt in boss man's yard ? Luke then puts his dirt back into boss man's ditch and this goes on and on ( you get the picture )

You see, everyone has got their job and nobody knows how to do the other man's job and nobody would if they knew how because that would be taking their job away and that's a big no,no

So this is only a little part of the efficiency.

P.s. a place where container trains go is not called a Depot ( a Depot is where passenger trains go to pickup or drop off passengers ) container trains go to switching yards and railheads.