Carbon Footprint of a 20' Shipping Container

Client NameID: ********17/12/12
ENGY-665 FUNDAMENTALS OF AIR POLLUTION
FINAL PROJECT 2012
ASSESMENT OF THE LIFECYCLE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF A 20` INTERMODAL FREIGHT CONTAINER
INTRODCUTION:
This document aims to identify the cumulative carbon footprint of a 20` standard intermodal freight container (with dimensions as specified by ISO 6346:2012).It includes a detailed Life Cycle Analysis(LCA) of the article in question, starting from mining of iron ore to shipment of container to destination in Europe(in this case Antwerp). For the purpose of simplification and focusing on a single majorly used type, it is assumed that the container is made of Core-Ten steel. Other varieties of such containers are also in use which is partially composed of materials like Aluminum or strengthened polymer. The container we will be evaluating has a dry weight of roughly 2200 kg while weight can vary considerably depending upon the exact of nature of building material used along with presence or absence of plywood floor.
The LCA methodology used will attempt to evaluate carbon footprint in terms of equivalent tons of carbon-dioxide produced. The analysis will start from mining of the iron ore, its transport to iron mill, processing in iron mill, and transport to manufacturing facility, processing in manufacturing facility and then finally delivery to its destination.
Background:
The first use of intermodal variants of trucking containers was on April 26, 1956. Initially 58 aluminum truck bodies were transferred on board an old tanker ship. Later these bodies were put back on trucks as it is and then departed for their intended destinations. Before that cargo was loaded/ unloaded manually on commercial vessels with the aid of an army of laborers who worked round the clock, yet still took days and even weeks to finish unloading/loading cargo.
The containerization era started in the end of 1950`s; eventually it drastically reduced the cost of shipping and ultimately changed the scenario of international trade. Where previously the main population of a port was workers who made an earning by handling cargo piece by piece, were replaced by gigantic cranes which handle hundreds of tons of a cargo per minute. Several ports which were previously of considerable importance eventually died a slow death because of inability to upgrade to infrastructure necessary for handling cargo containers. The length of layovers for sailors on ports were reduced exponentially and where previously these hugely expensive ships wasted a lot of time just sitting in port awaiting completion of cargo handling, now they waited for barely a few hours before all the cargo was in order and the ship was ready to disembark on its next profitable venture. The effects of this revolution were more thorough than expected; the massive amount of labor engaged in the cargo handling business was suddenly unemployed after the advent of this hugely efficient and more economical arrangement.
Even though this revolution has been accused to cause unemployment at a massive level, nevertheless one cant the ignore the fact that the labor freed from this sector came out handy in plenty of other fields where labor-intensive tasks were in order. But the biggest implication of this breakthrough was the accessibility options which were suddenly expanded for all manufacturers and all customers simultaneously. Where previously a factory near the port was treasured because of negligible transportation costs, now this was no longer applicable. The reason being that because of this revolution the cost of procuring raw materials and supplying end products dropped so much that a proximity to shipping facilities was no longer advantageous. Instead of constructing and maintaining a singly owned manufacturing facility which gave out finished product, it was now feasible to establish trade relations on pattern of supply chains which consisted of a whole array of small processing units. These processing units formed a spatially apart but still organized and integrated assembly line like system where collecting all components under one roof was no longer necessary.
Previously low populated areas or impoverished regions could now advance just on the basis of their workmanship. Conventionally, areas with more opportunities or trade potential are occupied by relatively well-off individuals which already posses enough capital to sustain themselves in these expensive areas. The true power of this container technology was that it equally distributed the opportunity to access international market. Industries started sprouting in several cities like Hong Kong and Los Angeles and eventually lead to a scenario of inevitable international competition. The dynamics of supply and manufacturing had wholly changed under the light of this new system which offered transport of your merchandise to a very long distance and at only a fraction of the cost. As a consequence of this nearly complete negation of the traditional isolation of markets imparted by spatial constraints, every product was available to every customer.
On one hand this meant that as a consumer, each person had a wider variety of things to choose from whatever the article in question maybe. The proliferation of imported items into a market meant that it was no longer an easy task to establish a monopoly in the market. Whereas on one hand the imported products competed with local products, they indirectly improved their quality because the manufacturers strived for better quality in an ever more harsh completion for better quality and lower cost. But the other aspect was that simultaneously each person is a manufacturer as well, directly or indirectly nearly all people are linked to production of an article. This meant that they had to strive harder to maintain a market of their product in order to learn their livelihood. In many instances, enterprises which previously operated in a purely local manner were forced to expand their market overseas in an attempt to compensate for the narrowing of market caused by international business in its local circle. This lead to an "All versus All" situation where as a response to fearsome competition, nearly all small scale business men had no choice but to start integrating in a bigger chain in order to reinforce and support their interests internationally. The aim was to combine their abilities and supply a range of similar products internationally rather than locally so that any loss in one market could be replenished by business from remaining markets. ADDIN EN.CITE Levinson20062(Levinson, 2006)2244Marc Levinson200617/12/2012Princeton University Presshttp://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9383.html(Levinson, 2006)
Current scenario:
Having analyzed the impact of this container system on change in international trade scenario during last four decades, we now move to the current face of this industry and how it contrasts from its earlier counterpart.
The container system has thoroughly evolved and matured after 1970`s, it has now transformed into what is termed as liner shipping. It is the combined package provided by cargo moving companies with high capacity container loaded ships being at the center of whole system. These vessels operate all round year on pre-determined routes and fixed schedules. It serves as the primary mode of international trade because of its economic feasibility and smoothness of operation. This industry has been implicated in improvement of living standards all across the globe, its facilitation to other industries and continuous service at an ever low cost has allowed many services which were previously unfeasible to develop and materialize. This industry not only serves as a life-line for majority of other industries thereby indirectly sustaining their labor, but it also comprises as a source of employment on its own. It offers a significant incentive for investment, along with the promise of an ever improving margin of profit following the advent of increasingly efficient shipping vessels.
This industry is jointly composed of all operations including, but not limited to sea-borne vessels. All other personnel like port staff, shipbuilding companies, long shore dock workers and other on-shore staff which operate in supportive capacities. The whole chain is composed of a variety of machinery which operates on and off board ships in all oceans of the world and majority of inland waterways which are navigable.
Some of the contributions of this industry include (direct excerpt taken from source as mentioned below):
* The value of the liner industry operations and shipbuilding in 2007 is estimated to be $436.3 billion, generating 13.5 million direct and related jobs.
* The liner industry transported about 60% of the total value of global seaborne trade of US$7.7 trillion in 2007.
* The industry has invested in more than 7,000 vessels to provide these services, with approximately another 1,400 on order.
* Over $235 billion have been spent on new vessels by the industry.
* Throughput at the top 20 global ports reached almost 250 million TEU in 2008.
* In 2008, the global container fleet consisted of 17.8 million containers, which cost the industry over $80 billion.
* In 2009, on average, liner ships made 10,000 port calls around the world each week.
* In mid-2007, the liner industry operated more than 400 scheduled services serving inter-continental route.
ADDIN EN.CITE 20091("Valuation of the Liner Shipping Industry:Economic Contribution and Liner Industry Operations," 2009)11272009Global InsightReport("Valuation of the Liner Shipping Industry:Economic Contribution and Liner Industry Operations," 2009)
Physical parameters and schematics of container:
The article in question is 20` container, fully constructed from core ten steel and its floor lined with plywood. Steel frames are used for construction of this container, side and end walls are completely vertically corrugated steel. It has corrugated double hinged doors and die-stamped corrugated steel roof along with ISO corner fittings at eight corners. Automatic Carbon dioxide gas welding was used for construction of container.
Plywood thickness: 28 mm
Plywood moisture content: Less than 14%
Plywood ply number: 19 plies
Plywood material: Apitong/Hardwood
Phases of study:
Iron Ore mining:
For this study it has been assumed that the iron core was mined from Mesabi Range in Minnesota.
Transport to port:
The ore was then transported to nearby port of Duluth via rail road.
Transport to iron mill:
From Duluth port it was loaded on a ship and sent to Indiana harbor.
Steel production in integrated steel plant:
At Indiana port the iron ore was directly unloaded from ship and sent into processing in ArcelorMittal iron mill. There it was converted into core-ten steel which is the preferred building material for shipping containers.
Transport to...