DID YOU KNOW? TEU IS KING. An estimated 793.26 million TEUs were handled in container ports worldwide in 2019. TEU history is one of the most successful steps in international trade of all ages.
But what is exactly a TEU and why is so relevant? 1 TEU is twenty-foot equivalent unit = 20 feet (6,1 meters) long x 8 feet (2,4 meters) wide x 8,5 feet (2,6 meters) high. With a maximum load of 23.600 Kg. We owe a lot to Malcom McLeand and the Ideal X the first ship adapted for containerization and was able to transport 58 containers from New Jersey hasta Houston in 1956.
MANY THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE THEN.
In 1960 ISO standardized containers size fixing the 20 and 40 feet. TEU is now used to measure size of ships, ports activities. It is much more secure than previous systems and more efficient. Nowadays, containers ship usually goes from 1.000 to 14.000 TEUS.
More than 70 later, a better system has not been found and TEUS dominates not only the seas but the international trade.
Much bigger ships have been built since the Ideal X arrived Houston changing trade ports, STS cranes, infrastructures, and the life of all of us.
Sources: https://www.shippingandfreightresource.com/importance-of-proper-container-lashing-on-board-ships/#https://www.icontainers.com/es/2019/08/06/la-historia-del-teu-twenty-foot-equivalent-unit/
