Container and chassis are covered by laws, regulations, conventions and standards on both an international and national basis. Many of the international conventions have been established under the umbrella of the United Nations and its sponsored organizations. National laws and regulations have been developed to apply the international conventions and national requirements. The following is a list of the primary conventions, laws, regulations and standards that apply to containers and chassis:
Entered into Force: December 6, 1975
Oversight: World Customs Organization (WCO)
Synopsis: Recognizes containers as Instruments of International Traffic (IIT) and establishes framework for containers to be used in international transportation.
Entered into Force: 1977
Oversight: UNECE
Synopsis: Establishes framework for International transport by road
Entered into Force: September 6, 1977
Oversight: International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Synopsis: The 1972 Convention for Safe Containers has two goals. One is to maintain a high level of safety of human life in the transport and handling of containers by providing generally acceptable test procedures and related strength requirements. The other is to facilitate the international transport of containers by providing uniform international safety regulations, equally applicable to all modes of surface transport. In this way, proliferation of divergent national safety regulations can be avoided.
The International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) International Standards for freight containers and chassis have allowed "the box" to become the backbone of global supply chains. To date, over 30 International Standards exist in this domain. They cover a wide variety of aspects of different types of freight containers that include air/surface/(intermodal) containers, containers on board vessels, tank containers, platform and platform-based containers.
Entered into Force: 2009
Oversight: US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Synopsis: Establishes regulatory requirements for safe operation, inspection, repair and maintenance of intermodal chassis in the United States
U.S. Roadability Legislation (See Section 4118, Roadability)
Roadability Regulations for Intermodal Equipment Providers (Roadability)
Entered into Force: 2006
Oversight: US Department of Homeland Security
Synopsis: Establishes certain regulatory security requirements for the operation of intermodal containers in the United States
