Explore the Evolution of Container Technology: A Brief History

The development history of containers can be traced back to the late 18th century or the early 19th century, and its development process can be divided into the following stages:

Origin and early attempts:

In 1795, Britain began to use wooden boxes to transport coal, which may be the prototype of container transportation. In 1801, Dr. James Anderson of Britain first proposed the idea of ​​loading goods into Containers for transportation. In 1845, British railways used the method of exchanging freight cars, which essentially regarded the cars as containers, so that the idea of ​​container transportation was initially applied. In 1853, American railway companies also began to carry out container transportation, but due to the different box models used by various departments, it failed to be widely promoted.

Promotion of railway transportation:

In 1928, major European railway companies signed a container transportation and exchange agreement and began to implement container railway transportation on a large scale. Containers were gradually promoted as a means of transportation. In 1933, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) established the International Container Bureau (B.I.C.) in Paris to promote the development and practice of international "multimodal transport" (combined transport of multiple means of transportation).

The birth of modern container transport:

On April 26, 1956, the "Ideal X" cargo ship carrying 58 containers set sail from the Port of Newark to the Port of Houston, Texas, and the world's shipping entered the era of container transport. The loading cost of the "Ideal X" was only 15.8 cents per ton, while the cost of manual loading, which was commonly used at the time, was 5.83 US dollars per ton, only 1/36 of the latter, which proved the economic advantage of containers.

Development and improvement:

Overcoming resistance: Although container transport has obvious advantages, it has also encountered many resistances in the process of promotion, such as the cost of mode switching, management restrictions of the transportation industry, resistance from dock workers and unions, and container standardization. After continuous exploration and development, these problems have gradually been resolved.

Standardization:

In 1961, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) released standard container sizes, namely 20 feet and 40 feet. This standard size container can be used in different transportation modes, such as shipping, train transportation and truck transportation. In April 1961, the United States took the lead in determining domestic container standards through voting. In 1964, this standard scheme was officially adopted by ISO, and truly international container shipping finally became a reality.

Widespread application and globalization:

As the advantages of container transportation are gradually recognized, it has been widely used around the world. The containerization level of general cargo transportation between developed countries has reached more than 80%. In 2022, the world's largest container ship made in China was signed and delivered, which can load up to 24,000 standard containers at a time, which is about 400 times that of McLean's initial test, almost reaching the limit of the navigation capacity of important trade routes.

Future development trend:

With the development of the global economy and the growth of trade, the container transportation market is expected to continue to grow. In the future, container transportation will pay more attention to environmental protection, intelligence and efficiency. At the same time, with the rise of emerging markets and changes in the trade pattern, the demand for container transportation will continue to change.