Shipping containers are everywhere!

Statistically, the shipping container industry is one of the fastest growing industries in Australia alone with record numbers of shipping containers moving through national ports each year.

The twenty-foot equivalent unit or TEU for short, is the universally recognised unit of measurement used to represent shipping containers in a standardised way. For reference, 20 foot container = 1 TEU, A 40 foot container = 2 TEU’s.

To get a understanding of how many shipping containers are currently traversing the globe, during the 2021/2022 Financial Year, a total of 8,480,500 TEU’s were processed through Australia’s five main ports (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle). This was across 3,448 vessels resulting in approximately 139.5 million tonnes of cargo being transported.Furthermore, 4,862,500 TEU’s were transported across and around Australia by truck and 767,100 TEU’s were transported by rail*.
*Statistics taken from The Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics Statistical Report, Maritime, Waterline 69, July 2023 published by The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
An appropriate citation for this report is:
Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics 2023, Waterline 69, Statistical Report, Canberra, ACT.

The application and use of shipping containers in industries outside of the import/export trade is ever expanding due to their compact, sturdy design whilst also being a cost effective, modular and adaptive option. Shipping containers are often utilised to provide secure, lockable and watertight temporary or permanent storage facilities as well as workplaces, and are often the preferred option when businesses are impacted by space restrictions.

Regardless of the intended use of a shipping container, at some point the doors will need to be opened either for inspection, to access its contents or to load/unload cargo. This can in turn expose individuals the risks associated with accessing, egressing, and working in or around the container including exposure to uncontrolled swinging doors.

Ben Portman
Director