June 15, 2020 – Recent years have seen an increase in importers/exporters using 20-ft and 40-ft dry freight containers to load cargoes previously not thought suited to a container. These include a variety of mineral ores, scrap, coal, fish meal and even heavy project modules. This trend is causing concern for many lessors, as these cargoes can cause damage to the container, especially if they are not packaged properly and/or loaded correctly, and result in expensive repair bills or even constructive loss of the box. This is the reason why many container carriers are now adding ancillary charges for certain commodities. If you have any questions about these issues, please contact us to discuss.