The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger

URL: http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9383.html

a. Identify a selection from this chapter that you found particularly interesting and explain why you selected it.

"Almost every one of the intricate movements required to service a vessel is choreographed by a computer long before the ship arrives. Computers, and the vessel planners who use them, determine the order in which the containers are to be discharged, to speed the process without destabilizing the ship. The longshoreman who drives each machine faces a screen telling him which container is to be handled next and where it is to be moved--unless the terminal dispenses with longshoremen by using driver-less transporters to pick up the containers at ship side and centrally controlled stacker cranes to handle container storage. The entire operation runs like clockwork, with no tolerance for error or human foibles. Within twenty-four hours, the ship discharges its thousands of containers, takes on thousands more, and steams on its way. The 11,000-mile trip from the factory gate to the Ohio warehouse can take as little as 22 days, a rate of 500 miles per day, at a cost lower than that of a single first-class air ticket. More than likely, no one has touched the contents, or even opened the container, along the way."

This particular paragraph was especially interesting for me because we have been simulating this exact thing in my computer science class. In fact, the introductory paragraph of the Data Structures book uses this exact scenario as an example of how stacks, queues and other organization methods that you can program are used. It's nice to see that what you read about in books and study in the classroom can actually have a huge impact on the world and its economy. I'm also really interested in how these things are programmed so that you can fill a boat at the same time as you are emptying it; especially since you have to counterbalance with whats already there.

There is another factor in this paragraph that captivated my attention; and that is the transportation costs of the container. I'm amazed that you can move so many goods on average 500 miles a day for less than a first-class airplane ticket.

b. How does the author see the development of the shipping container contributing to globalization?

According to the author, the container is one of the biggest contributors to globalization. According to him, the container made shipping cheap, which allowed firms to transform from catering domestically to catering internationally; with the ability to sell their products just as easily far away as if they were selling them locally.
Following the innovation was the making or refueling of new ports, such as Busan and Seattle. Having these ports available, as well as the cheap prices of transformation provided by the container contributed greatly to globalization as we know it today.

In the words of the author, "It was not routine for shoppers to find Brazilian shoes and Mexican vacuum cleaners in stores in the middle of Kansas. Japanese families did not eat beef from cattle raised in Wyoming, and French clothing designers did not have their exclusive apparel cut and sewn in Turkey or Vietnam. Before the container, transporting goods was expensive--so expensive that it did not pay to ship many things halfway across the country, much less halfway around the world."

c. Who do you see gaining and losing from this transformation of global transportation?

• Workers: Most the workers that once made their livings loading and unloading ships were let off. This could either be a gain or a loss (since most of the well ill-paid and ill-treated) Most were replaced by computers. However, for those that were working, the workweek grew shorter, disability pay was made more generous, and people could retire at an earlier age. 
• Cities: some cities saw their waterfronts decline, since they were no longer needed. 
• Ship Lines: Some ship lines were crushed by the cost of having to adapt their methods to the container. 
• Small towns: some small towns that are at a great distance from cities really took advantage of the container, as their cheap land and low wages encouraged factories to travel away from a port (since transportation was so cheap) and bring jobs to the village
• Poor countries could realistically become suppliers to wealthier countries far away
• Consumers: could now enjoy the freedom of choice
• Everyone: inexpensive imported goods boosted living standards