Modern Container Shipping Changed the World
In modern times, a large portion of the products that people use throughout the day are transported by sea. Suppose you are working on a computer screen, with a mug of coffee in hand, all of which are coming from a different country. Not only these, but other aspects of modern life such as refrigerators, smartphones, air-conditioning devices — all these are coming from one country or another. Not all the parts are being manufactured in the countries where they are being produced. In other words, the producing countries are also importing these from other countries. And these goods are being transported mainly by sea.
The reality is that almost 90 percent of the world’s goods are shipped by sea, from fruit to gazettes, to electronic appliances everything. At one end of the world, these items are loaded onto large containers and loaded onto cargo ships. Again containers are not needed for products like oil and grain; These are taken directly to the ship. According to a blog post by the World Economic Forum, about 1.4 trillion US dollars worth of goods are transported in large metal containers every year. Without these containers, the international supply system would somehow collapse.
The importance of containers has been understood in the recent crisis. Transportation of goods has been disrupted due to the container crisis. Rising prices of imported goods.
Originally, the US military began transporting containers for armaments during World War II. However, the container was small in size. Malcolm McLean, an American businessman in the early 1950’s, realized that it would be much easier to load and unload containers on a ship or train if proof-sized containers were made. This method allows the product to be kept in containers full time from production to delivery. This greatly reduces the cost and also reduces the risk of damage. Containers of that size are still running. The length of the container he made was 33 feet, it was soon increased to 35 feet, the width and height were determined to be eight feet. This method dramatically reduces the cost of container transport. The cost of loading and unloading containers by manual labor in 1958 was ৮৬ 5.8 per tonne. Due to the proof size of the container, the cost is reduced to 18 cents per ton. This method also reduced the amount of damage. Because the container is locked, no one can steal if they want to. Again, it is not possible for pirates to carry such a large container. The U.S. military made the final use of the container during the Vietnam War. Now more than 20 feet long containers are used. There is also a 40-foot container. But their breadth is equal. The advantage of this is that the containers fit snugly inside the ship, leaving no space in the middle.
This container was one of the reasons why globalization took off after World War II. While the volume of goods transported in containers was 102 million metric tons in 1970, it increased to 163 million metric tons in 2016. Most containers are transported between Europe and Asia via the Pacific Ocean.
On the other hand, the length of container vessels has also doubled in the last 20 years. The world’s largest ship now has a capacity of 24,000 containers. In other words, if the length of a freight train or container train is only 44 miles, it is not possible to transport such a large number of containers. In other words, a ship capable of transporting 19,100 containers of 20 feet in size is capable of carrying 156 million pairs of shoes, 300 million tablet computers and 900 million can bins.
The Ever Given, which sank in the Suez Canal for a week in March this year, had a capacity of 20,000 containers.
But the biggest thing is that the cost of shipping a 20 ton container from Europe to Asia is the same as an economy class plane ticket on the same route. This, of course, is a prelude to the epidemic. Container fares have risen due to the crisis. Container fares are being blamed for causing inflation around the world.
Thomas Williams writes related to the Business and Healthcare Category. He manages to cover anything thrown at him owing to his natural inclination towards Business and health. Thomas is our freelance contributor. Thomas is responsible for covering developments in finance and health categories topics.
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