The shipping container, as we know it now, has been with us since 1956, invented by American entrepreneur Malcolm McLean. It has revolutionised global trade and cut the cost of freight. In his vision, McLean saw that the standardisation of loading and unloading would cut the time and cost at port. This would also bring in more regulation for those whose maritime careers and, therefore, livelihood depended on the healthy management of the industry.
His original design was a 33ft long container, which would be 8ft high and 8ft wide. The impact of this was extraordinary. The cost of loading a ship in 1956 was $5.68 per ton 1956. After the advent of Maclean’s initiation, this price was reduced to 19 cents.
Today, the container is 20ft long, 8ft wide, and 9ft tall, known as a twenty-foot equivalent container unit or TEU. The FEU also exists, which differs by being 40ft long. Additionally, the building of the ships themselves has standardised and has seen a reduction in construction costs.
In the last 20 years, the size of the average container vessel has doubled. They can now take 24,000 containers. Some say that this may increase by 50% by the end of the decade. This new design will make handling time in port longer, while incidents such as the recent one in the Suez Canal will mean longer time spent at sea. These will reduce gains, going against the efficiencies made.
The major gain for the future will be the advent of more automation in the industry. Maritime careers in information technology will be ever more numerous and important. Built in 1993, it was the first fully automated container port in Rotterdam. It caught on quickly with a similar construction in Busan, South Korea. The South Koreans have also been the first to build a container ship with an integrated automation system. The outcome will hopefully be reducing costs with automated navigation, adapting quickly to changing weather patterns, and using less fuel.
In general, the container fleet market is experiencing resilient growth, significantly driven by the expansion of global trade, and the consumer’s desire to demand the type of product easily transported by container. With globalization and the diversification of supply chains, growth in this industry is expected to continue to rise.
As mentioned above, the technological revolution is integral to the maritime industry with the adoption of digital tools for shipping, IoT sensors in smart containers, automation ashore in port innovation, and new vessels being able to make use of developments in the way they use fuel, all making for a more efficiently run industry. It is hoped that these features will contribute to a more environmentally friendly and informed industry as well.
The container fleet is also serving various end-user segments, such as oil and gas, automotive, minerals, food, and mining. This cargo requires specific needs, and the container fleet is playing a vital role in enabling the transportation of these cargoes.
Geographically, the container fleet market is dominated by the Asia Pacific region due to its role in global manufacturing. Next comes North America and Europe, while there is growth in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. We can only presume that with factors involved in ship and port design, and the continuing demand for the products transported across the seas and oceans, this industry will continue to prosper.
