The shipping container is one of the most important inventions of the 20th century, which revolutionized global trade and commerce. Malcolm McLean, an American businessman, is credited with inventing the modern intermodal shipping container in 1956. He realized that the traditional method of loading goods onto cargo vessels was inefficient and time-consuming. McLean worked with engineer Keith Tantlinger to develop the world’s first intermodal shipping container, which eliminated wasted space and reduced unloading time from weeks to just 24 hours.
The first container ship, a converted World War 2 tanker called the Ideal X, sailed from Newark to Houston in 1956, carrying 58 shipping containers. In 1968, the International Standards Organization standardized the container’s dimensions, and ships were redesigned to accommodate these standard boxes. Shipping costs plummeted, and it became cheaper to manufacture goods on the other side of the world. The shipping container has been the single biggest catalyst of globalization and has revolutionized ports, rail networks, ships, cities, and countries all over the world.
Today, there are over 20 million shipping containers on the water, with most purchased items transported inside one. Modern shipping vessels can carry over 20,000 TEU shipping containers, and ports and infrastructure are in place all over the world to keep up with demand. However, International Trade still faces new challenges, particularly with the number of parties involved in each shipment and the manual processes involved in the flow of information and documentation between them. Fortunately, innovative tech companies are working together to improve the efficiencies of International Trade through software and solutions for exporters, importers, ports, and shipping lines. These technological advancements are necessary to keep up with the ever-growing demand for global trade and commerce.
