Why have customized container types suddenly become popular?

I've been visiting yards and factories lately, and one thing has struck me deeply: the era of standard shipping containers is coming to an end. In the past, when arranging export shipments, customers would simply state how many 20GP and 40HQ containers they needed. Today, however, they ask for 40-foot containers with side doors, double doors, multiple doors, fully open tops, ventilation systems, ladders and internal partitions, among other custom features. Such personalized requirements keep emerging in an endless stream, with larger order volumes and more frequent demands.

As you can see, this 40-foot multi-side door container was once a very niche product, but it has now become a standard fixture across many industries. Many people wonder: Why exactly is this happening? Have the goods changed, or have the customers changed? The answer is both, and the changes are fundamental.

• New energy industry chain: photovoltaic modules, energy storage battery cabinets, wind turbine blades, charging piles

• Construction machinery: mini excavators, loaders, forklifts

• Automobiles and auto parts: complete vehicles, recreational vehicles, special vehicles

• Prefabricated buildings: modular houses, integrated restrooms, integrated kitchens

• Large-scale equipment: medical devices, industrial robots, precision instruments

All these goods share common features: large in size, heavy in weight, non-detachable and pressure-sensitive. Using traditional end-door containers to load and unload such goods is extremely troublesome. Forklifts cannot get inside, and cranes struggle to lift the cargo. Forcing the goods in leads to low efficiency and a high risk of damage. In contrast, side-door containers turn the container's side walls into doors, allowing direct loading and unloading with forklifts from the side, which solves the problem perfectly.

The proportion of high-value-added goods has increased significantly. In the past, the value of goods in one container might be only tens of thousands of US dollars. Nowadays, a 40-foot container loaded with energy storage batteries often holds goods worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of US dollars. For high-value-added goods, customers are no longer most concerned about freight costs, but about cargo safety and loading and unloading efficiency.

• Side doors prevent goods from being dragged back and forth inside the narrow container, reducing scratches and collisions.

• Custom internal fixing devices can secure goods firmly and prevent them from shifting during transportation.

• The fully visible loading and unloading process greatly lowers the risk of cargo damage.

A surge in demand for transporting goods with special attributes. An increasing number of commodities have special transportation requirements:

• Hazardous goods: Require custom explosion-proof, fire-resistant and ventilated structures.

• Fresh cold-chain products: Require custom thermal insulation layers and interfaces for refrigeration equipment.

• Precision instruments: Require custom environments with shockproof, anti-static, constant temperature and constant humidity features.

• Overlength and overwidth goods: Require custom open-top, frame or extended containers.

Standard containers are simply unable to meet these demands.

A surge in demand for transporting goods with special attributes. An increasing number of commodities have special transportation requirements:

• Hazardous goods: Require custom explosion-proof, fire-resistant and ventilated structures.

• Fresh cold-chain products: Require custom thermal insulation layers and interfaces for refrigeration equipment.

• Precision instruments: Require custom environments with shockproof, anti-static, constant temperature and constant humidity features.

• Overlength and overwidth goods: Require custom open-top, frame or extended containers.

Standard containers are simply unable to meet these demands.