Shipping containers, sometimes called Conex containers, have a long and storied history, often trafficking goods across oceans all around the world. They are considered indispensable when it comes to shipping goods by sea, as their durability and ability to last sometimes 20 years or longer makes them valuable assets for commercial use.

Shipping containers have likely contained any number of the following goods to be shipped around the world: food products, bound for developed countries from emerging countries; electronics, bound for Asian countries like China and Korea; clothes, which is often made in emerging countries like Indonesia; and coffee beans, which are moved around the world.

They are known for their large size; one 40 foot shipping container for instance, is 300 square feet (or 2,700 cubic square feet) and holds up to 8,400 shoe boxes. A standard shipping container tends to be around 20 feet and can hold up to 3,600 shoe boxes at 1,150 cubic feet. This makes them perfect vessels for transporting goods all around the world.

Shipping containers are unique in a sense: They are a material and container that has been used for other capacities since the old ones were stopped trafficking. Some may even say that shipping containers are the ultimate green material; they are fully recyclable and made out of 80% recycled material and form important functions in buildings today.

There are some general terms used to described shipping containers. One of the terms is Conex containers, and another is industrial steel shipping containers, and another is a simple steel shipping box, or steel shipping container. These are all terms to describe the same facet of a transportation industry: the shipping container.

Whether they are called Conex containers, industrial steel shipping containers, simple steel shipping box, or steel shipping container, shipping containers are roughly all the same in terms of size and shape, with little to differentiate one from another except color.

They are considered “green” material because of the ability to use steel shipping Conex containers for another person: the building of houses.

Conex containers are used to build houses in the following way: Four 40′ shipping containers are placed in a square-like arrangement. Each 40′ foot shipping container is 300 square feet. By putting them all next to each other, it is possible to create a house that is approximately 1200 square feet and can fit in three bedrooms and a bath.

Conex containers have been used as part of living establishments for years, with modular housing gaining steam in some parts of the country. Modular housing simply means a house constructed from pre-frabricated materials, such as Conex containers. Conex containers have the ability to have the following characteristics that make them livable:

• Durability. Durable, steel shipping containers average a 25-year lifespan and require minimal maintenance.
• Container structures are inherently mobile, stackable, durable, weather-resistant, typically require no foundation and average a 25-year lifespan.
• Can withstand 100 mile per hour winds by themselves and 175 mile per hour winds when anchored with pylons.

This, it would stand to reason, makes steel shipping container homes a possible benefit in locations that have heavy wind damage or general weather damage, such as Florida, up the eastern coast, the Gulf of Mexico and other. It might also be seen as useful in tornado country, where winds can reach rapid rates quickly.

The truth is, over 17 million Americans live in modular homes, and it’s not just because they are so protected against the elements. Modular homes can be built in a factory in as little as two weeks, while regular homes generally take between four to six months to build.

Just as important, Conex containers, or shipping containers, are known to be a “green” material, in that they are completely recyclable at the time they are demolished .They are also made of 80% recycled material, which makes them a strong candidate for the type of material sustainable living people would like to see become more a part of our lives.

Finally, Conex containers are used for many other purposes aside from shipping items and housing people. They’ve been turned into offices for people on construction sites, used for storage at construction sites, used for storage of medical material and sensitive information, and many other uses.