The highly anticipated Intermodal Asia 2026 is in full swing at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center. During the exhibition, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment Co., Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as "Shanghai Universal") , a subsidiary of COSCO SHIPPING Development, officially launched two new "Pioneering" (AAAAA-level) green container products—the Green Low-Carbon Dry Container and the Composite Material Refrigerated Container.
These two products represent the first practical implementations of Shanghai Universal's ECO-CON green container brand concept, redefining new standards for green logistics equipment with tangible, quantifiable carbon reduction results.
The two new products achieve genuine, quantifiable carbon reduction throughout their entire lifecycle—from material sourcing and manufacturing processes to usage efficiency and recycling. According to calculations by the Container Carbon Footprint & Environmental Product Declaration (CFP&EPD) platform, the carbon footprint per dry container has been reduced by over 20% compared to industry benchmarks, while refrigerated containers show a reduction of approximately 10%. This effectively supports customers' ESG disclosure and green procurement requirements.
Both container models are green and low-carbon products. Targeting their respective application scenarios, Shanghai Universal has adopted precise green innovation strategies.
Green Low-Carbon Dry Container
Injecting Green Momentum into Global Transportation
The green dry container product is designed for the application scenarios of "high strength, low cost, and high turnover efficiency". Through systematic upgrades in materials, structure, and manufacturing processes, it significantly reduces carbon emissions throughout the product lifecycle while ensuring performance and efficiency. This helps customers achieve their green supply chain goals in high-frequency, long-cycle global logistics operations.
Two Key Breakthroughs
Green Steel Application
The use of certified low-carbon/near-zero-carbon steel significantly reduces carbon emissions in the production process compared to conventional steel.
Integrated Wide-Floor Design
The ultra-wide floor integrated forming technology is adopted, significantly reducing the number of nails required and improving assembly efficiency by over 10%.
Currently, this product has been evaluated through the CFP&EPD Environmental Product Declaration platform, meeting the highest "Pioneering" (AAAAA level) standard in Shanghai Universal's Green Container Grading System.
Composite Material Refrigerated Container
Making Green Cold Chain More Efficient and Reliable
Shanghai Universal closely addresses the challenges faced in cold chain transportation, such as "high energy consumption, metal component corrosion, and frequent maintenance." With the core objectives of "reducing operational energy consumption and enhancing structural durability," the company innovatively applies composite flooring, thermoplastic inner liners, and high-reflectivity thermal insulation coatings. These advancements not only significantly reduce the container's weight but also effectively minimize solar heat radiation, leading to a notable decrease in refrigeration energy consumption. Additionally, the container's superior corrosion resistance significantly lowers maintenance frequency, reducing resource consumption and waste generation at the source. This approach creates a truly future-oriented green refrigerated container solution.
Four Key Upgrades
Composite Flooring
The use of glass fiber-reinforced composite materials to replace traditional aluminum alloy components enhances corrosion resistance by approximately 20 times, reduces weight by 15%–20%, and provides excellent load-bearing capacity, enabling effortless handling of high-intensity loading and unloading operations.
Thermoplastic Liner Panel
Odorless, lightweight yet high-strength, and resistant to aging over prolonged use, ensuring the safety and hygiene of cargo inside the containers.
High-Reflectivity Thermal Insulation Coating
Under direct sunlight, it can reduce the external surface temperature of the container by 15–25°C and lower the internal temperature by 8–15°C, significantly decreasing the overall cooling energy consumption in summer.
Powder-Coated Door Panel
The fully automatic electrostatic spraying process significantly reduces volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions, achieves salt spray resistance exceeding 3,000 hours, and delivers coating adhesion at the industry's highest performance level. Thanks to high-durability materials and advanced anti-corrosion techniques, the container's service life has been significantly extended, with all primary materials being recyclable, achieving a truly low-carbon closed-loop cycle from manufacturing and usage to decommissioning. Both of the new green container products are developed based on the Shanghai Universal ECO-CON green container brand concept. Manufactured by a nationally recognized green factory, leveraging clean production processes and intelligent manufacturing systems, from the application of eco-friendly materials to low-carbon container production, from operational energy efficiency to high-efficiency recycling, it achieves systematic carbon reduction throughout the entire lifecycle, ensuring that low-carbon data is measurable, verifiable, and trustworthy. This not only represents an upgrade in container products but also signifies Shanghai Universal's advancement of the ECO-CON green container brand development. A solid step from concept to market, from blueprint to application.
