How Shipping Containers Transformed Global Trade

01/05/2025

It’s easy to take container shipping for granted. Anything we order online we expect to receive within a few days, at most a few weeks. Our supermarkets include fresh foods from around the world. However, this is only possible because of the efficiency and speed that shipping containers, such as dry cargo and reefer have brought to the industry.

Of course, it wasn’t always like this. Shipping container history is rich and varied, and with their usage becoming ever more critical, it’s important to take a step back and reflect on just how far these pieces of technology have come.

Barrels might be rolled or hauled directly from the hold across the gangplank. While this did ensure that docksides were a hive of activity, it also meant that the overall shipping process was much slower and less efficient by today’s standards.

Optimizing Trade: The Dawn of Container Shipping

During England’s industrial revolution, an early kind of containerized transport known as the ‘Starvationer’ was used. A box boat with ten wooden containers carrying coal was transported via canal to Manchester in the 1760s. Similarly, ‘simple rectangular wooden boxes’ containing coal could be transferred from trains to horse-drawn carriages in the 1830s in Lancashire.

By the early 20th century some purpose-built container ships had come into service, with train companies also experimenting with carrying containers on flatcars, but their operation was limited. It wasn’t until containers were used widely by the US Army in World War II to speed up supply transports that a standardized system for containers was established.

However, it was Malcolm McLean who truly transformed container shipping. Often considered the ‘father of containers’, McLean was a US trucking entrepreneur who in 1955 came up with a prototype intermodal transport container. His prototype was different from those of previous innovators because the specifications of his container were not dictated by the size of the ship. Instead, the shipping container came first, and the ship would be built around the cargo. The maiden voyage of this approach took place in 1956 when 58 of his metal shipping containers travelled from Newark to Houston.

The usage of shipping containers was further expanded during the 1960s and 1970s when a global ISO system for container standards was developed. This meant that containers could be moved efficiently from one country to the next, on different railway systems and types of vehicles.

Dimensions and corner fittings for containers were also standardized, leading to vessels being built accordingly. As these new cargo ships required deeper waters and larger dockside space, ports were also redesigned in order to accommodate them.

Exploring the Versatile World of Shipping Containers: Container Types

Over the last 50 years, a range of different shipping containers has developed, based on the demands of the products they carry.

Dry cargo containers

These are the most common types of shipping containers used to transport solid commodities that do not need any specialized features, such as temperature control, freezing, or refrigeration. With a standard height of 8.5 feet or a high cube version at 9.5ft, and available as either 20 or 40ft shipping containers, dry cargo such as dry, non-perishable foodstuffs, electronics, furniture and clothing is often shipped loose or unpackaged.

Reefer containers

Reefers are refrigerated units that run on a constant power source to maintain the required temperature to protect the quality and freshness of perishable food products such as fruit, vegetables, dairy, and meat. Some foodstuffs also require optimum levels of humidity and ventilation, so reefer containers also feature cutting-edge cooling, ventilation, and dehumidification technology.

Flat rack containers

Flat rack containers are designed for the kinds of cargo that are too wide and possibly too tall for a standard dry cargo container such as building materials or vehicles. Fixed end flat racks have set upright walls at the bulkhead of the container, and collapsible flat racks have four walls that can be deconstructed. There is no roof, and the container can be open on three sides.

Open top container

Open top containers are for items that are loaded from above the container by a crane, such as heavy goods, large machinery, or building materials. The open top containers don’t have a permanent cover or roof other than a tarpaulin that is secured in place. There are also no doors to an open top container, meaning they are only used for specific kinds of cargo.

Liquid cargo container

Liquid cargo like petroleum, chemicals, and food-grade liquids can be shipped in several ways. They can be transported in purpose-built cylindrical containers, secured in a frame, in watertight plastic containers, or in flexi-tanks, which are recyclable silk bags that can fill a standard 20-foot container with up to 24,000 litres of cargo.

Transforming Global Trade: The Incredible Impact of Shipping Containers

Any innovation that speeds up an industry’s processes and reduces its costs is almost certain to have a far-reaching impact. With the use of shipping containers, international trade has become quicker and more cost efficient, which has in turn allowed for far larger economies of scale.

Other areas of container shipping’s key areas of impact include:

Standardization

The use of shipping containers has brought about a system of intermodal transport that uses ISO standardized containers. This means that every link in the logistics chain has a container-compatible infrastructure.

From manufacturer to road and rail, to port, to final destination, goods are transported as efficiently as possible end to end. While railway gauges may differ between countries, container sizes do not.

Improved security and safety of cargo

Shipping containers provide businesses with a more secure way of transporting goods, as your goods remain unseen and sealed behind locked doors throughout transportation. As air and temperature conditions can also be remotely monitored and controlled, your cargo is provided with an additional level of protection against damage and spoilage.

Increased globalization of trade

The growth of container shipping has also transformed the global economy. So much more can be shipped, on ever larger vessels, thanks to purpose-built container ports. The largest container ships can now carry over 20,000 TEU’s (twenty-foot equivalent unit).

Port and infrastructure development

Container shipping has changed the way ports operate. City ports on inland rivers like London and Manhattan were too small to cope with the space and depth of water required with container ships; seaports have taken their place, which have the size for large container terminals. Ports such as Shanghai, Felixstowe, and Rotterdam are now the standard for global shipping ports and play a vital role in facilitating global trade.

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