Assignment - Describe the different steps of containerization in global trade.
Created by Malcom MacLean in 1956, the concept of containerization in packing goods in uniform simple metal box called containers that can be easily moved between lorry and ship, the aim being very simple: making big savings in all the different steps of trading merchandise. .
As simple as the idea can appear, containerization transformed global trade and we can consider that, in 1966, ten years after its creation, the concept has been internationally adopted. Today, around 18 billion containers make over 200 million trips per year, so almost every manufactured product consumed today spends some time in a container. Indeed, from an old way of trading merchandise with slow process, we have turned into a modern and efficient way of trading wares. With containerization, savings were multiple.
Economically, thanks to the system of containerization, as it is an intermodal system (namely containers can be loaded on different means or modes of transport -and not only ships- like aircraft, trains, trucks with the minimum of effort and without have to unpack and repack the container), costs are much lower than before: 0.16 dollars per ton to load compared with 5.83 dollars per ton for loose cargo on a standard ship, and insurance costs per ton have been divided by six (from 0.24 pound per ton to 0.004 pound). .
The idea of using standard containers also enabled savings of time and increased significantly efficiency: containers can be easily and quickly packed and loaded onto ships or any other mode of transport like "lego blocks " which resulted in a huge reduction in port handling costs. Consequently, the port labour productivity has been multiplied by almost 20: a container crew can load 30 tons per hour compared with 1.7 ton per hour onto a cargo ship in 1965. This enabled the use of bigger ships without increasing the time spent in port, which lead to an average of ship's size of 19.
