Storage & Container News — containers

Containers are all around us, on ships, trains and trucks.  The biggest container ships can carry 19,000 containers and, at any one time, there are more than 2000 such ships at sea.  90% of everything that is purchased in North America has at some stage been in a container. Container shipping replaced more labour intensive methods in the 1970s. Then, dock workers fought back, hoping to preserve their jobs but inexpensive container shipping won out and is part of the reason goods made in Asia are so cheap and plentiful.  Today, we hardly notice these sturdy and robust warriors of...

Around 90% of everything that is purchased has traveled at some stage in a container. Containerization and the standardization of the size of containers in and around 1970 changed the face of the planet.  Before standardization of the container cargo was loaded at 1.3 tonnes per hour.  Post 1970 ships were loaded at 30 tonnes per hour.  Resistance by dockworkers was crushed, docks rebuilt for container ships, jobs lost but profits were up and suddenly global trade spiraled off the graph. The 20 ft and 40 ft containers we use today became the standard which is referred to as TEU...