Patent ID: 8146813

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: at least one member of an optical group; and a container inventory management system configured to receive at least one member, and configured to also produce another at least one member, of the group consisting of a container code estimate of a container based upon at least one member of said optical group created by an optical characteristic system configured to couple to a container handler configured to transfer said container to/from a rail car, a manifest of said rail car, a confirmation of said manifest, and an insurance record for said container; wherein said optical group comprises a container image of at least part of at least one face of said container at least twenty feet long, an optical characteristic derived from said container image, a container code estimate of a container code, a rail car identifier of said rail car, and a container chassis identifier of a container chassis; and wherein said container handler is a member of the group consisting of a front end loader, a reach stacker, and a gantry crane.