My how the world has changed.
There was a time when no one (outside the transportation industry) would have given shipping containers a second thought. But times have changed, and now we have arrived at an amazing juncture in social and economic trends.
The History
Shipping containers go back 1,000s of years. In fact, I would be so bold to say that ever since humans have ventured further than the fire, they have fabricated and transported “containers” to hold that which was precious to them. Naturally, over the years, the size and quality of these containers has evolved and progressed.
Tea Urns
During a recent trip to London, I ventured onto an amazing sailboat that was used in the 19th century to transport tea from China. The Cutty Sark now sits in dry dock and brings joy and delight to young and old alike. What made this experience so memorable was seeing the tea containers, nothing like what you see today, but to see how they were packed into the hold of the ship, ladened down to the max.
Tea Containers
The Cutty Sark’s sole purpose was to sail as fast as she could from the Far East to London. Lives were lost, fortunes made, and incredible stories were told to future generations.
What really came to mind when viewing this historic ship was realizing that previous generations placed their valuable assets into these containers. They all had the same goal as we do now — keep it as low cost and lightweight as possible. Of course, the people working the docks would also have preferred containers be as light as possible, since most of the stevedoring was done by hand.
Then came machines, and not only did the ships change, but we also saw the emergence of steel shipping containers — reusable, durable, cheap, and reliable. These shipping containers continued to serve humanity well, until, something interesting happened in global trade.
Global Over Supply
Containers on Ship
Goods manufactured in remote locations need to move quickly, cost-effectively, and safely to their markets. The United States imports so much from the far East that containers are routinely returned empty, which makes for an interesting observation — if shipping it back costs more than making a new one, why ship the container back? Hence, the birth of the alternative container industry was born.
Alternative Container Lifestyles
We now see containers taking on an existence of their own. From uses at homes to apartments to hotels to pools to schools to libraries, if you need shelter from the elements, then a durable, safe shipping container is for you.
Over the coming months, we will explore some of the very creative uses there are for containers.
If you know of some interesting articles on other uses of containers in today’s modern society, please feel free to share by sending to us via the Contact us page.
We will also be updating our YouTube channel — more on that later.
