The development of shipping containers reached a turning point in the late 1970s when standardization began to take place. Prior to this time numerous designs and sizes of containers were seen throughout the world. The true intermodal era began in the 1980s with the expanding world economy, Panama Canal ship size restrictions, intermodal railway car (wagon) designs and the setting of ISO standards for international shipping containers.
Steel became the norm and two heights of 40-foot containers eventually became standard worldwide; the standard-height (8' 6") and the high-cube (9' 6").
In addition to ISO size standardization, assembly-line manufacturing standardization brought the steel container from various aluminum and steel designs to a more similar design. In the late 1970s squared corrugations with double logo panels were common new-builds. The next step, occurring during the early 80s changed the squared corrugations to a beveled design. Finally, in the late 80s, the logo panels were no longer seen on new-builds and the all-corrugated side container emerged as most production was shifted to China.
Today's commonly seen steel all-corrugated ISO containers still have some variations, primarily the doors. The new Atlas model will be a standard-height 40'er which will exhibit a range of door styles, roofs, and front walls to more closely match the variations in the prototype containers seen throughout the world.
There are two major sizes of ISO 40-foot freight containers;
high-cube and standard-height. The standard height container, with
an outside height of 8'6", is the more commonly seen worldwide of the two. The ISO has assigned the following size-type codes to this style of container: 4300, 4310, 42G0, 42G1.
