International cargo transportation is one of the component parts of the world economic processes. Traffic is influenced by the changes in placement of industrial production centers. In these circumstances international container traffic is of great importance. Container traffic seems to be one of the most developing parts of the transportation business. A great part of containers falls on international cargo transportation. Motor cargo transportations are organized between manufacturing companies and ports, between distribution centers and markets, between terminals and consignees. Often time the cargo type is determinant when choosing the transportation modalities and transportation company. Container transportations are the most universal.

Containers are convenient because they may be transported by many kinds of transport and this fact facilitates multimodal transportations. It is easier to trans-ship containers than simple cargo. Besides, containers allow temporary storage of goods out of storage facilities and in the same time not in the open air. One more advantage of containers is the safer delivery of joint cargo.

Door-to-door transportation of joint cargo reduces terms of delivery and raises cargo safety. The cargo transportation services price depends on several factors: cargo volume, periodicity of cargo transpirations, type of transport (motor transportation, air transportation, railway transportation, sea shipping, intermodal or multimodal transportations - sometimes they are called mixed), as well as of kind of cargo transportation: international, long-distance or local.

First it is necessary to decide how and in what cargo will be transported. For example  when transporting liquid food products, such as wine, oil, vinegar, ethyl alcohol, liquid chocolate, treacle, beers, uses special cisterns for food products, which have a sink at the bottom and are marked in a special manner. Before loading cisterns  prepare them in a necessary way. Namely, the interior surface of the cisterns is treated with the products which are to be transported. Cisterns and containers for transportation of food products must correspond to ISO standards. For transportation of "complicated" products, such as beer, special containers-cisterns, having equipment for maintenance of temperature and pressure in carbonic medium, are used. For transportation of liquid chocolate, fructose and other sorbites, it is necessary to maintain certain temperature and to transport products very quickly, otherwise they'll loose they properties.

For transportation of chemical substances, such as liquefied gas, ethyl fluid, yellow phosphorus, acids, special cisterns are used. Separate cisterns are used for each type of products. On transportation of gases equipment for pressure measurement (manometer) is installed. All the above-said are under the control of the movers technical department.

For free-flowing products transportation, special containers, which may be loaded in an ordinary manner or under the pressure, are used.

There are containers for transportation of products which require special temperatures. These are containers-refrigerators, containers-thermoses etc. Selection of concrete type of container depends on kind of transported product. Not so many companies have such technical resources.

If you need to transport piece goods or box cargo it is necessary to choose either universal container, or particularized container. Particularized container may be loaded not only through lateral doorways, but otherwise too, and it has some distinctive design features.

Now when we have decided in what type of cargo the goods are to be transported, let's pass to some elements which refer to transportation itself. First of all let's gain an understanding of terms "intermodal" and "multimodal" transportation.

- Intermodal transportation - cargo transportation by the means of one or several kinds of transport without reloading cargo on change of transport.

- Multimodal transportation - during cargo transportation change of transport takes place. For example first transportation is made by the means of motor transport, and then cargo is shifted, for example, in aircraft for further transportation.

In order to choose the most optimal chain of "door-to-door" delivery, reliable transportation companies, have logistics department. Professionals of logistics department  will route, estimate delivery time and transportation cost, track the transportation progress on-line.

Professional transportation companies logistics department employees, always monitor the market of transportation services in those countries where company has partners and know tariff policy of each of the countries-partners.