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.
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-footer 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.
