American trucking entrepreneur Malcom McLean converted a surplus tanker, the Ideal X, to carry 58 truck trailer bodies as standardized loadable units between Newark and Houston. This voyage is widely credited as the origin of modern intermodal containerized shipping, in which cargo is packed once into a steel box and moved by ship, rail, and truck without unpacking. The innovation sharply reduced loading times and pilferage compared with traditional break-bulk cargo handling. Over the following two decades the practice spread to ports worldwide.
Relevance to Trade History
Containerization is considered one of the most significant innovations in the history of global trade, dramatically lowering the cost of moving goods and enabling the rise of globalized manufacturing supply chains.
Read the full story in our article Container Shipping and the Modern Supply Chain.
Source: Smithsonian National Museum of American History. See our Sources & Methodology page for how we select and verify references.