Shipping Container–Great and Useful Invention by Malcom McLean

The shipping container becomes very popular and short of supply around the world in 2021, especially in recent months. And recently, there are 96 containerships in queue waiting to berth at the ports of LA/LB, reaching a record.

With the shipping container, goods are no longer to be loaded one by one as they were when containers were not used to be packed with cargo, saving lots of time.

In 1956, owning a trucking company, Malcom McLean, was the first person who considered taking containers off the trucks and using containers on ships, and his first containership carried 58 containers at that time. In 1996, the world’s largest containership carried 6,000 containers while in 2021, the biggest one carries about 24,000 containers. Time and development have witnessed the heartening changes of the shipping containers.

Do you know when the first containership went on oversea voyage?

It was in 1966 that the first containership left Newark, N.J. and arrived at Rotterdam in the Netherlands, which contributes a lot to worldwide shipping.

Thanks a lot to Malcom McLean! With his creation, we can easily receive great goods from all around the world.

Are containers only used for shipping? Definitely not. Containers can be applied to makeshift school, clinics and accommodation. Moreover, some people use containers to build their mobile apartment. Amazing?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, more people go shopping online and the demand of shipping is rising rapidly, leading to the shortage of the shipping containers, and the port congestion worsens the case. A lot of containers are waiting for unloading at the ports. The price of the 20-foot container from China to other countries rises to $7,000 and that of 40-foot container from China to other countries increases from $4,000 to $13,000.

Not until the supply chain crisis is solved can the price of shipping container return to normal. Do yo think so?