The Use of Loading Equipment

Not all shippers have a container loading dock or raised bank with suitable dock plate at their premises, where the forklift and pallet truck can enter the container. The cargo is often manually or mechanically lifted from the ground onto the container that sits on the chassis (the bogie) or flatbed truck (the open truck). The inclining belt conveyor sometimes is used to move the cargo from the ground up to the container doors, and the roller conveyor is used to convey the cargo from the container doors to the inner section, particularly when packing a 40' container, which is deep.

In case the shipper's premises have a raised bank and the forklift is used, the forklift must have a lift mast that is non-rising and less than 7' 6" (i.e., less than 90 inches), in order to allow cargo to be forked into a standard dry cargo container.