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[quote user="oltmannd"][quote user="futuremodal"][quote user="oltmannd"][quote user="futuremodal"]   most domestic containers these days are manufactured overseas.  [/quote] Really?  By whom?  How do they get them here? There's 95,000 53', 102" wide containers  in UMLER.  These are the backbone of the domestic stack service. As far as I know, most of these can't be stacked more than two high, so shipping them on container ships is problematic.  Also, I've never heard of 102" wide OR 53' foot containers moving on container ships.  JB Hunt's came from Wabash National.  Scheider has some, too.  From their press release. Container features include: · Same load configuration as a van trailer · Ability to be double-stacked when used on the rail · High-durability, lightweight painted/galvanized steel that is rust-resistant to protect transport of food, garments and other sensitive cargo · Easy loading, reduced product damage and smooth, clean look of non-corrugated, plywood-free interior sidewalls · 109 ½ inch interior height for greater loading capacity · Authorization for use on any railroad [/quote] For what it's worth, Wabash has stopped manufacturing domestic containers as per their recent press release: <A href="http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=113608">http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=113608</A> Quote of note from Bill Greubel, Chief Executive Officer at Wabash:  "It has become increasingly clear that corrugated steel boxes from China and Korea adequately satisfy customer requirements at prices significantly lower than our container offering." That leaves Schneider, until they decide to pull out.  Anyone else left in the US to manufacture domestic containers? [/quote] Stoughton, for one, built a lot of those aluminum EMP boxes.  Don't know if they're still doing it, though. <A href="http://www.uprr.com/customers/intermodal/emp/graphics/emp_s_2.gif">http://www.uprr.com/customers/intermodal/emp/graphics/emp_s_2.gif</A> Also, Hyundai in Tijuana. Also, looks like those steel 53' x 102" boxes have a payload only about 3-4% less than an aluminum box.  <A href="http://www.pacerstack.com/services/equipment_notlogged_specs.html">http://www.pacerstack.com/services/equipment_notlogged_specs.html</A>.  If you're going to load out before you cube out, you're likely to select a shorter trailer to begin with, I suppose.  It appears that 53' 102" containers, whereever they come from, are the functional equal of their dry van counterparts.  So, trailers offer no real advantage over containers. [/quote] Well, not sure what we're arguing about regarding where doms are made, now and in the future.  Can you make an argument that we'll still have at least some domestic production of domestic containers in the near future, or are you willing to concede that we'll probably lose that market entirely in the not so distant future? Regarding the capacity of doms vs dry vans, that difference too is something that will be become more pronounced in the near future, as dry van makers become more innovative in expanding capacity of the existing 53' 102" length/width limits.  The obvious area for expansion is heightwise, something that is feasible with dry vans, not feasible with domestic containers unless railroads are willing to increase clearances beyond 20'2".  Remember, such change can happen rapidly in the trucking industry, where intramodal competition is fierce, whereas in the railroad industry such change is multi-decades process due to the relative lack of intramodal competition.  The end result will be either more TOFC or more OTR's with these higher capacity dry vans.  My bet is that most will go OTR. There's a reason trucking firms will only use domestic containers in the intermodal lanes, and not in general highway usage - domestic containers simply do not have the capacity of dry vans, e.g. the difference is more significant that you'd admit.
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