Transport concept that changed the world

Container ships and their seamless integration with onshore transport systems have been the key element of globalization. Before the invent and use of containers, the costs of sea freight and port handling with uncertainties involved were such that international trade of goods made no economic sense.

In modern times the construction of specialized container vessels and the scale of economies introduced world over by ever larger ships offered a massive reduction in the transportation costs. The cost of moving the goods has become so low and as a portion of the production cost. With this

advent of efficient transport system, it made economically cheaper to source products anywhere around the world without adding to expense.

While the vessels themselves are highly automated, the computers ashore determine loading and unloading sequence of boxes well ahead of transport. The precise position in which the container is to be stacked ashore and the arrangements for land transport to deliver it to the door of the receiver are likewise pre-programmed. This highly efficient system has brought a new degree of reliability to global supply chains by allowing local manufacturers and high street shops to place orders from the other side of the globe with confidence that their goods will arrive safely and on time.