Editing Containerization (section)

== Origin ==
[[File:Queens Wharf, Port Adelaide, before 1927.jpeg|thumb|Loading assorted break bulk cargo onto ships manually]]
[[File:LMS freight containers on lorry and rail wagon (CJ Allen, Steel Highway, 1928).jpg|thumb|Transferring freight containers on the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] 1928]]

Before containerization, goods were usually handled manually as [[break bulk cargo]]. Typically, goods would be loaded onto a vehicle from the factory and taken to a port warehouse where they would be offloaded and stored awaiting the next vessel. When the vessel arrived, they would be moved to the side of the ship along with other cargo to be lowered or carried into the hold and packed by dock workers. The ship might call at several other ports before off-loading a given consignment of cargo. Each port visit would delay the delivery of other cargo. Delivered cargo might then have been offloaded into another warehouse before being picked up and delivered to its destination. Multiple handling and delays made transport costly, time-consuming and unreliable.{{sfn|Levinson|2006}}

Containerization has its origins in early [[Coal mining in the United Kingdom|coal mining regions in England]] beginning in the late 18th century. In 1766 [[James Brindley]] designed the "starvationer" box boat with ten wooden containers, to transport coal from [[Worsley]] Delph (quarry) to Manchester by [[Bridgewater Canal]]. In 1795, [[Benjamin Outram]] opened the [[Little Eaton Gangway]], upon which coal was carried in [[wagons]] built at his Butterley Ironwork. The horse-drawn wheeled wagons on the gangway took the form of containers, which, loaded with coal, could be transshipped from canal [[barge]]s on the [[Derby Canal]], which Outram had also promoted.<ref>Ripley, David (1993). ''The Little Eaton Gangway and Derby Canal'' (Second ed.). Oakwood Press. {{ISBN|0-85361-431-8}}.</ref>

By the 1830s, railroads were carrying containers that could be transferred to other modes of transport. The [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]] in the UK was one of these, making use of "simple rectangular timber boxes" to convey coal from Lancashire collieries to Liverpool, where a crane transferred them to horse-drawn carriages.<ref>Essery, R. J, Rowland. D. P. & Steel W. O. ''British Goods Wagons from 1887 to the Present Day''. Augustus M. Kelly Publishers. New York. 1979 p. 92 {{ISBN?}}</ref> Originally used for moving coal on and off barges, "loose boxes" were used to containerize coal from the late 1780s, at places like the [[Bridgewater Canal]]. By the 1840s, iron boxes were in use as well as wooden ones. The early 1900s saw the adoption of closed container boxes designed for movement between road and rail.

=== Twentieth century ===
On 17 May 1917, [[Louisville, Kentucky]], native<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WYp5AAAAMAAJ&q=Fitch|title=Queen City Heritage|publisher=The Journal of the Cincinnati Historical Society|year=1985|volume=43–44|page=27|language=en}}</ref> Benjamin Franklin "B. F." Fitch (1877–1956)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Latimer J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LioDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31 |title=The Motor-Truck Helps the Railroad |date=July 1920|publisher=[[Popular Science#Early history|Popular Science Monthly]]|volume=97|pages=30–33|language=en}}</ref> launched commercial use of "demountable bodies" in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], which he had designed as transferable containers. In 1919, his system was extended to over 200 containers serving 21 railway stations with 14 freight trucks.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PFVAAAAMAAJ&q=%22benjamin+franklin+fitch%22|title=Railroad History, Issues 158–159 |date=1988|publisher=Railway and Locomotive Historical Society|page=78|language=en}}</ref>

In 1919, [[engineer]] Stanisław Rodowicz developed the first draft of the container system in [[Poland]]. In 1920, he built a prototype of the biaxial wagon. The [[Polish-Bolshevik War]] stopped development of the container system in Poland.<ref name="L&T">{{Cite journal | first = Krzysztof | last = Lewandowski | title = Stanisław Rodowicz, Eng. The Forgotten Pioneer of Containerization in Poland | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268153158 | journal = Logistics and Transport | volume = 23 |issue = 3 | year = 2014 | pages = 73–78 | issn = 1734-2015}}</ref>

The U.S. Post Office contracted with the [[New York Central Railroad]] to move mail via containers in May 1921. In 1930, the [[Chicago & Northwestern Railroad]] began shipping containers between Chicago and Milwaukee. Their efforts ended in the spring of 1931 when the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] disallowed the use of a flat rate for the containers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grant |first=H. Roger |date=1996 |title=The Northwestern A History of the Chicago & North Western Railway System |location=DeKalb, IL |publisher=[[Northern Illinois University Press]] |page=156 |isbn=978-0-87580-214-5}}</ref>

In 1926, a regular connection of the luxury passenger train from London to Paris, [[Golden Arrow (train)|Golden Arrow]]/[[Fleche d'Or]], by [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]] and [[French Northern Railway]], began. For transport of passengers' baggage four containers were used. These containers were loaded in London or Paris and carried to ports, Dover or Calais, on flat cars in the UK and "CIWL Pullman Golden Arrow Fourgon of CIWL" in France. At the Second World Motor Transport Congress in Rome, September 1928, Italian senator [[Silvio Benigno Crespi|Silvio Crespi]] proposed the use of containers for road and railway transport systems, using collaboration rather than competition. This would be done under the auspices of an international organ similar to the Sleeping Car Company, which provided international carriage of passengers in sleeping wagons. In 1928 [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] (PRR) started regular container service in the northeast U.S. After the [[Wall Street crash of 1929]] in [[New York City|New York]] and the subsequent Great Depression, many countries were without any means to transport cargo. The railroads were sought as a possibility to transport cargo, and there was an opportunity to bring containers into broader use. In February 1931 the first container ship was launched. It was called the Autocarrier, owned by Southern Railway UK. It had 21 slots for containers of Southern Railway.<ref name="TransportMeans2016">{{cite journal | first = Krzysztof |last = Lewandowski |title = The containers ships, which really was the first? | journal = Transport Means 2016, Proceedings of the 20th International Scientific Conference, October 5–7, 2016|location= Juodkrante, Lithuania |year = 2016 |pages = 668–676 |issn = 1822-296X}}</ref><ref name="S/S AUTOCARRIER">{{cite web |url=http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/autocarrier_1931_b_1.htm |title=S/S Autocarrier. Foto genom Roy Thorntonn samling |url-status=live |access-date=2021-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717031857/http://faktaomfartyg.se/autocarrier_1931_b_1.htm |archive-date=2015-07-17 }}</ref> Under auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris in [[Venice]] on September 30, 1931, on one of the platforms of the Maritime Station (Mole di Ponente), practical tests assessed the best construction for European containers as part of an international competition.<ref name="logistica2014a">{{cite journal |first=Krzysztof |last=Lewandowski |title=Czechoslovak activity to prepare European norms for containers before the Second World War |journal=Acta Logistica |volume=1 |year=2014 |issue=4 |pages=1–7 |issn=1339-5629 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270794211 |format=PDF |doi=10.22306/al.v1i4.25 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 1931, in the U.S., B. F. Fitch designed the two largest and heaviest containers in existence. One measured {{cvt|17|ft|6|in|m|2}} by {{cvt|8|ft|0|in|m|2}} by {{cvt|8|ft|0|in|m|2}} with a capacity of {{convert|30,000|lb|kg}} in {{convert|890|cuft|m3}}, and a second measured {{cvt|20|ft|0|in|m|2}} by {{cvt|8|ft|0|in|m|2}} by {{cvt|8|ft|0|in|m|2}}, with a capacity of {{convert|50,000|lb|kg}} in {{convert|1,000|cuft|m3}}.<ref name=Lewandowski>[https://socialscienceresearch.org/index.php/GJHSS/article/view/1607/5-Benjamin-Franklin-Fitch_html "Chapter 3. Education and Experience"] ''Benjamin Franklin Fitch the Forgotten Developer of the Container System in US of America'' by Krzysztof Lewandowski, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland. 2015.</ref>

In November 1932, in [[Enola, Pennsylvania]], the first [[container terminal]] in the world was opened by the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].<ref name="logistica2014a" /> The Fitch hooking system was used for reloading of the containers.<ref name=Lewandowski/>

The development of containerization was created in Europe and the U.S. as a way to revitalize rail companies after the [[Wall Street crash of 1929]], which had caused economic collapse and reduction in use of all modes of transport.<ref name="logistica2014a" />

In 1933 in Europe, under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce, the [[Bureau International des Containers|International Container Bureau]] (French: ''Bureau International des Conteneurs'', B.I.C.) was established. In June 1933, the B.I.C. decided on obligatory parameters for containers used in international traffic. Containers handled by means of lifting gear, such as cranes, overhead conveyors, etc. for traveling elevators (group I containers), constructed after July 1, 1933. Obligatory Regulations:
* Clause 1. Containers are, as regards form, either of the closed or the open type, and, as regards capacity, either of the heavy or the light type.
* Clause 2. The loading capacity of containers must be such that their total weight (load, plus tare) is: {{convert|5|t|2|lk=on}} for containers of the heavy type; {{convert|2.5|t|2}} for containers of the light type; a tolerance of 5 percent excess on the total weight is allowable under the same conditions as for wagon loads.<ref name="logistica2014a" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Obligatory norms for European containers since 1 July 1933 {{citation needed|date=June 2020}}<!-- the various statements in this table are completely unsourced -->
! Category!! length [m (ftin)] !! [m (ftin)] !! [m (ftin)] !! Total mass [tons]
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align: center;" | Heavy types
|-
| Close type 62 || {{cvt|3.25|m|ftin|frac=8}} ||{{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.20|m|ftin|frac=8}}
| rowspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | {{cvt|5|t|LT ST|2}}
|-
| Close type 42 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.20|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|-
| Open type 61 || {{cvt|3.25|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.10|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|-
| Open type 41 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.10|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align: center;" | Light Type
|-
| Close type 22 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.05|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.20|m|ftin|frac=8}}
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{cvt|2.5|t|LT ST|2}}
|-
| Close type 201 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.05|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.10|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|-
| Open type 21 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.05|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.10|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|}

In April 1935 BIC established a second standard for European containers:<ref name="logistica2014a" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Obligatory norms for European containers since 1 April 1935
! Category !! Length [m (ftin)] !! Width [m (ftin)] !! High [m (ftin)] !! Total mass [tons]
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align: center;" | Heavy types
|-
| Close 62 || {{cvt|3.25|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.55|m|ftin|frac=8}}
| rowspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | {{cvt|5|t|LT ST|2}}
|-
| Close 42 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.55|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|-
| Open 61 || {{cvt|3.25|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.125|m|ftin|frac=16}}
|-
| Open 41 || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|1.125|m|ftin|frac=16}}
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align: center;" | Light Type
|-
| Close 32 || {{cvt|1.50|m|ftin|frac=8}}|| {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.55|m|ftin|frac=8}}
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{cvt|2.5|t|LT ST|2}}
|-
| Close 22 || {{cvt|1.05|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.15|m|ftin|frac=8}} || {{cvt|2.55|m|ftin|frac=8}}
|}

From 1926 to 1947 in the U.S., the [[Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway]] carried motor carrier vehicles and shippers' vehicles loaded on [[flatcar]]s between Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois. Beginning in 1929, [[Seatrain Lines]] carried railroad boxcars on its sea vessels to transport goods between New York and Cuba.<ref>{{Cite journal | title = Seatrain: Railroad or steamship line? | first = Robert E. | last = Mohowski | journal = Classic Trains |date=Spring 2011 | pages = 64–73}}</ref>

In the mid-1930s, the [[Chicago Great Western Railway]] and then the [[New Haven Railroad]] began "[[Piggyback (transportation)#Rail|piggyback]]" service (transporting highway freight trailers on flatcars) limited to their own railroads. The Chicago Great Western Railway filed a U.S. patent in 1938 on their method of securing trailers to a flatcars using chains and turnbuckles. Other components included wheel chocks and ramps for loading and unloading the trailers from the flatcars.<ref>''The Chicago Great Western Railway'', David J. Fiore Sr., Charleston, South Carolina:  Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 51{{ISBN?}}</ref> By 1953, the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad|Chicago, Burlington and Quincy]], the [[Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad|Chicago and Eastern Illinois]], and the [[Southern Pacific Railroad|Southern Pacific]] railroads had joined the innovation. Most of the rail cars used were surplus flatcars equipped with new decks. By 1955, an additional 25 railroads had begun some form of piggyback trailer service.

==== World War II ====
During World War II, the [[Australian Army]] used containers to more easily deal with various [[break of gauge|breaks of gauge]] in the railroads. These non-stackable containers were about the size of the later [[Teus|20-foot ISO container]] and perhaps made mainly of wood.<ref>'''With Iron Rails''' p 8.26 by David Burke 1988{{Full citation needed|date=June 2013}}</ref>{{Request quotation|date=June 2013}}
[[File:Gueterwagen anagoria.JPG|thumb|Freight car in railway museum [[Bochum Dahlhausen Railway Museum|Bochum-Dahlhausen]], showing four different UIC-590 pa-containers]]

During the same time, the [[United States Army]] started to combine items of uniform size, lashing them onto a pallet, [[Unit load|unitizing]] cargo to speed the loading and unloading of transport ships. In 1947 the [[Transportation Corps]] developed the ''Transporter'', a rigid, corrugated steel container with a {{convert|9000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} carrying capacity, for shipping household goods of officers in the field. It was {{cvt|8|ft|6|in|m|2}} long, {{cvt|6|ft|3|in|m|2}}, and {{cvt|6|ft|10|in|m|2}} high, with double doors on one end, mounted on skids, and had lifting rings on the top four corners.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Van Ham |first1=Hans |last2=Rijsenbrij |first2=Joan |date=2012|title=Development of Containerization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CgQmkTczzPwC&pg=PA8 |location=Amsterdam |publisher=[[IOS Press]] |page=8 |isbn=978-1614991465 |access-date=27 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.transportation.army.mil/museum/transportation%20museum/CONEX.htm |title=History & Development of the Container – The "Transporter", predecessor to the CONEX |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=15 May 2013 |website=transportation.army.mil |publisher=[[U.S. Army Transportation Museum]] |access-date=20 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720104152/http://www.transportation.army.mil/museum/transportation%20museum/CONEX.htm |archive-date=20 July 2015}}</ref> During the [[Korean War]] the Transporter was evaluated for handling sensitive military equipment and, proving effective, was approved for broader use. Theft of material and damage to [[wood]]en crates convinced the army that steel containers were needed.
[[File:Malcolm McLean at railing, Port Newark, 1957 (7312751706).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Malcom McLean]] at railing, Port Newark, 1957]]

==== Mid-twentieth century ====
In April 1951, at [[Zürich Tiefenbrunnen railway station]], the Swiss Museum of Transport and ''[[Bureau International des Containers]]'' (BIC) held demonstrations of container systems, with the aim of selecting the best solution for Western Europe. Present were representatives from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy and the United States. The system chosen for Western Europe was based on the Netherlands' system for consumer goods and waste transportation called ''Laadkisten'' (literally, "loading bins"), in use since 1934. This system used [[roller container]]s that were moved by rail, truck and ship, in various configurations up to a capacity of {{convert|5500|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, and up to {{convert|3.1 x 2.3 x 2|m|ftin|frac=8}} size.<ref>{{cite journal |author=M.K. |title=Vorläufer der heutigen Container: pa, BT und B900 | trans-title=Predecessors of today's containers: pa, BT and B900 |language=de |url=http://s1gf.de/index.php?page=Attachment&attachmentID=15438&h=baff58dff7aacd89e3c5f73a93e2a6f668971165 |journal=MIBA |issue=Special 54 |pages=12–19 |access-date=23 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nicospilt.com/index_laadkisten.htm |title=Laadkistvervoer – Langs de rails |author=Nico Spilt |language=nl |trans-title=Loading bin transport |access-date=20 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720180139/http://www.nicospilt.com/index_laadkisten.htm |archive-date=20 July 2015}}</ref> This became the first post World War&nbsp;II European railway standard [[International Union of Railways|UIC]] 590, known as "pa-Behälter." It was implemented in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, West Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark.<ref name="PojazdySzynowe2015a"/>
With the popularization of the larger ISO containers, support for pa containers was phased out by the railways. In the 1970s they began to be widely used for transporting waste.<ref name="PojazdySzynowe2015a">{{Cite journal |first=Krzysztof |last=Lewandowski |title=Wymagania Organizacyjne Stosowania Systemu ACTS |language=pl |trans-title=Organizational Requirements Use the ACTS System |journal=Pojazdy Szynowe |volume=2 |year=2014 |pages=1–14 |issn=0138-0370 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269251044}}</ref>

<!--On 1 November 1951 East countries of Europe signed an International Agreement on Direct International Goods Transport by Rail and Procedure Instruction (SMGS). In this document were the terms small and big containers. As small containers means container with volume from 1 to 3 cubic meters and total mass to 2.5 tons. As big containers means container with volume more than 3 cubic meters and total mass 2.5-5 tons. In East side of Europe was designed railways station for operation small and big containers<ref name="PrecCLC2013">{{cite journal |first=Krzysztof |last=Lewandowski |title=LONG WAY OF STANDARDIZATION CONTAINERS IN EUROPE |journal=CLC 2013: Carpathian Logistics Congress – Congress Proceedings |year=2013 |pages=57–64 |publisher=[[Wrocław University of Technology]] |ISBN=978-80-87294-50-5 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289521656_LONG_WAY_OF_STANDARDIZATION_CONTAINERS_IN_EUROPE}}</ref> similarly as used on railways of the USSR.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://freespace.virgin.net/neil.worthington/baku.htm| title=Photos of containers in Baku| publisher=Freespace.virgin.net |date=1999-03-09 |access-date=2011-11-28}}</ref> -->
In 1952 the U.S. Army developed the Transporter into the CONtainer EXpress or [[CONEX box]] system. The size and capacity of the CONEXes were about the same as the Transporter,{{#tag:ref| (8’6" length, 6’3" width and 6’10½" height, and 9000 lbs capacity),<ref name=Heinsthesis>{{cite thesis |last=Heins |first=Matthew |date=2013 |title=The Shipping Container and the Globalization of American Infrastructure |type=dissertation |chapter=2 |publisher=[[University of Michigan]] |page=15 |chapter-url=http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/102480/mheins_1.pdf |access-date=21 July 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Levinson|2006|p=127}}|group="nb"}} but the system was made ''modular'', by the addition of a smaller, half-size unit of {{convert|6|ft|3|in|m|2|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|4|ft|3|in|m|2|abbr=on}} wide and {{convert|6|ft|10+1/2|in|m|2|abbr=on}} high.<ref>{{Cite report |date=15 December 1970 |title=Logistic Support in the Vietnam Era |volume=7: Containerization |url=http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/877965.pdf |publisher=US DoD Joint Logistics Review Board |page=10 |access-date=22 July 2015 |quote=The dimensions of the CONEX II are 75 by 82½ by 102 in. The CONEX container is a metal reusable shipping box. The most common type has a 295-cu. ft. capacity, is about 8½ by 6 by 7 ft, and can carry 9,000 lbs. The dimensions of the Half-CONEX or CONEX I container are 75 by 82¼ by 51 in. |archive-date=21 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721230641/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/877965.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=VanHam>Development of Containerization // J. van Ham, J. Rijsenbrij: [https://books.google.com/books?id=CgQmkTczzPwC&pg=PA8 Steel containers] (page 8)</ref>{{#tag:ref| Some sources also mention a 12-foot version.<ref>Falloff // Robert Flanagan: [https://books.google.com/books?id=nuTu4FIZdhoC&pg=PA7 Fleeing G.o.D.] (page 7)</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://everhartfamily.com/vietnam1970.html |title=My Vietnam Tour – 1970 |author=Michael J. Everhart |date=7 July 2014 |access-date=21 July 2015 |quote=.. CONEX ... container that ... was about 7' high by 8' wide and about 12' long...}}</ref> and a third version, the ''CONEX III'' of {{convert|8 x 8 x 6.5|ft|m|2}}, and a capacity of 13,000 lbs was being developed. Connecting devices were intended to join three CONEX-III containers together into one 20-feet long unit, a standard recommended by the American Standards Association, for use in commercial rail, highway, and water shipping.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0831121 |title=Reusable Metal Shipping Container (Conex III) |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1968 |publisher=[[Defense Technical Information Center]] |access-date=2015-07-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727162017/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0831121 |archive-date=2015-07-27}}</ref>|group="nb"}} CONEXes could be stacked three high, and protected their contents from the elements.<ref name=Heinsthesis/>

The first major shipment of CONEXes, containing engineering supplies and spare parts, was made by rail from the Columbus General Depot in Georgia to the [[Port of San Francisco]], then by ship to Yokohama, Japan, and then to Korea, in late 1952. Transit times were almost halved. By the time of the [[Vietnam War]] the majority of supplies and materials were shipped by CONEX. By 1965 the U.S. military used some 100,000 CONEX boxes, and more than 200,000 in 1967.<ref name=VanHam/><ref name=JLRBreport>{{Cite report |date=15 December 1970 |title=Logistic Support in the Vietnam Era |volume=7: Containerization |url=http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/877965.pdf |publisher=US DoD Joint Logistics Review Board |pages=9–11 |access-date=22 July 2015 |archive-date=21 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721230641/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/877965.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> making this the first worldwide application of intermodal containers.<ref name=Heinsthesis/> After the [[United States Department of Defense|US Department of Defense]] standardized an {{convert|8 by 8|ft|m|2|adj=on}} cross section container in multiples of {{convert|10|ft|m|2|adj=on}} lengths for military use, it was rapidly adopted for shipping purposes.{{Citation needed|date=July 2015}}

In 1955, former trucking company owner [[Malcom McLean]] worked with engineer [[Keith Tantlinger]] to develop the modern [[intermodal container]].{{sfn|Levinson|2016|pp=64–69}} All the containerization pioneers who came before McLean had thought in terms of optimizing particular modes of transport. McLean's "fundamental insight" which made the intermodal container possible was that the core business of the shipping industry "was moving cargo, not sailing ships".{{sfn|Levinson|2016|pp=70–71}} He visualized and helped to bring about a world reoriented around that insight, which required not just standardization of the metal containers themselves, but drastic changes to ''every'' aspect of cargo handling.{{sfn|Levinson|2016|pp=70–71}}

In 1955, McLean and Tantlinger's immediate challenge was to design a [[shipping container]] that could efficiently be loaded onto ships and would hold securely on sea voyages. The result was an {{convert|8|ft|m|2}} tall by {{convert|8|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} wide box in {{convert|10|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}-long units constructed from {{convert|2.5|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=128}} thick corrugated steel. The design incorporated a [[twistlock]] mechanism atop each of the four corners, allowing the container to be [[spreader (container)|easily secured and lifted]] using cranes. Several years later, as a [[Fruehauf Trailer Corporation|Fruehauf]] executive, Tantlinger went back to McLean and convinced him to relinquish control of their design to help stimulate the container revolution. On January 29, 1963, McLean's company [[SeaLand]] released its patent rights, so that Tantlinger's inventions could become "the basis for a standard corner fitting and twist lock".{{sfn|Levinson|2016|p=188}} Tantlinger was deeply involved in the debates and negotiations which in back-to-back votes in September 1965 (on September 16 and 24, respectively) led to the adoption of a modified version of the Sea-Land design as the American and then the international standard for corner fittings for shipping containers.{{sfn|Levinson|2016|p=191}}  This began international standardization of shipping containers.<ref name="bbc-boxtcb">{{cite video|title=The Box that Changed Britain|people=McGough, Roger (Narrator), McAulay, Graeme (Director & Producer), Crossley-Holland, Dominic (Executive Producer)|medium=documentary|work=BBC4|publisher=BBC|date=2010}}</ref>

=== Purpose-built ships ===
[[File:Korea busan pusan harbour cargo container terminal.JPG|right|thumb|Containers waiting at the South Korean port of [[Busan]].]]
{{Main article|Container ship}}

The first vessels purpose-built to carry containers had begun operation in 1926 for the regular connection of the luxury passenger train between London and Paris, the [[Golden Arrow (train)|Golden Arrow]]/[[Fleche d'Or]]. Four containers were used for the conveyance of passengers' baggage. These containers were loaded in London or Paris and carried to the ports of Dover or Calais.<ref name="logistica2014a" /> In February 1931 the first container ship in the world was launched. It was called the Autocarrier, owned by the UK's Southern Railway. It had 21 slots for containers of Southern Railway.<ref name="TransportMeans2016" /><ref name="S/S AUTOCARRIER" />

The next step was in Europe after World War II. Vessels purpose-built to carry containers were used between UK and Netherlands<ref name="PojazdySzynowe2015a" /> and also in Denmark in 1951.{{sfn|Levinson|2006|p=31}} In the United States, ships began carrying containers in 1951, between [[Seattle]], Washington, and Alaska.<ref name="AntonsonHanable1985">{{cite book|last1=Antonson|first1=Joan M.|last2=Hanable|first2=William S.|title=Alaska's heritage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iWhFAAAAYAAJ|access-date=24 April 2012|year=1985|publisher=Alaska Historical Society for the Alaska Historical Commission, Dept. of Education, State of Alaska|isbn=978-0-943712-18-5|page=328}}</ref> None of these services was particularly successful. First, the containers were rather small, with 52% of them having a volume of less than {{convert|3|m3|cuft|0}}. Almost all European containers were made of wood and used canvas lids, and they required additional equipment for loading into rail or truck bodies.{{sfn|Levinson|2006|pp=31–32}}

The world's first purpose-built container vessel was ''Clifford J. Rodgers'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marineinsight.com/maritime-history/clifford-j-rodgers-the-worlds-first-purpose-built-container-ship/|title=Clifford J. Rodgers: The World's First Purpose Built Container Ship|work=Marine Insight|date=21 July 2016|access-date=17 August 2017}}</ref> built in Montreal in 1955 and owned by the [[White Pass and Yukon Route|White Pass and Yukon Corporation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hougengroup.com/yukon-history/yukon-nuggets/white-pass-the-container-pioneers/|title=White Pass The Container Pioneers|publisher=Hougen Group of Companies|access-date=2015-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208115759/http://www.hougengroup.com/yukon-history/yukon-nuggets/white-pass-the-container-pioneers/|archive-date=2015-12-08|url-status=dead}}</ref> Her first trip carried 600 containers between North Vancouver, British Columbia, and Skagway, Alaska, on November 26, 1955. In Skagway, the containers were unloaded to purpose-built [[railroad car]]s for transport north to Yukon, in the first [[intermodal freight transport|intermodal]] service using trucks, ships, and railroad cars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yukonmuseums.ca/treasures/ytm/09.html|title=Cargo Container|work=Treasures of the Yukon|publisher=Yukon Museum Guide|access-date=24 April 2012|archive-date=17 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017164723/http://www.yukonmuseums.ca/treasures/ytm/09.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Southbound containers were loaded by shippers in Yukon and moved by rail, ship, and truck to their consignees without opening. This first intermodal system operated from November 1955 until 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hougengroup.com/family/1950s/1950s.aspx?year50=1957 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126132133/http://www.hougengroup.com/family/1950s/1950s.aspx?year50=1957 |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 January 2013 |title=White Pass: The Container Pioneers |last=McLaughlin |first=Les |publisher=[[CKRW-FM]] |access-date=24 April 2012 }}</ref>

The first truly successful container shipping company dates to April 26, 1956, when American trucking entrepreneur McLean put 58 ''trailer vans''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/04/27/archives/tankers-to-carry-2way-pay-loads-filled-trailer-vans-to-form-cargoes.html|title=Tankers to Carry 2-Way Pay Loads; Filled Trailer Vans to Form Cargoes for Vessels That Normally Carry Ballast|work=The New York Times| date= April 27, 1956}}</ref> later called containers, aboard a refitted tanker ship, the {{SS|Ideal X}}, and sailed them from [[Newark, New Jersey]], to [[Houston, Texas]].{{sfn|Levinson|2006|p=1}} Independently of the events in Canada, McLean had the idea of using large containers that never opened in transit and that were transferable on an intermodal basis, among trucks, ships, and railroad cars. McLean had initially favored the construction of "trailerships"—taking trailers from large trucks and stowing them in a ship's [[cargo]] hold. This method of stowage, referred to as [[roll-on/roll-off]], was not adopted because of the large waste in potential cargo space on board the vessel, known as broken [[stowage]]. Instead, McLean modified his original concept into loading just the containers, not the chassis, onto the ship; hence the designation "container ship" or "box" ship.<ref name="CudahyB-TRN-2006-Sep-Oct">Cudahy, Brian J., [http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/trnews/trnews246.pdf "The Containership Revolution: Malcom McLean's 1956 Innovation Goes Global"]. ''TR News''. (c/o National Academy of Sciences). Number 246. September–October 2006</ref>{{sfn|Levinson|2006}} (See also [[pantechnicon van]] and [[trolley and lift van]].)

=== Toward standards ===
[[File:Maersk Line containers in late 1960s (7312784586).jpg|thumb|Maersk Line containers in 1975.]]
[[File:Psa keppel.JPG|thumb|right|Keppel Container Terminal in [[Singapore]]]]

During the first 20 years of containerization, many container sizes and corner fittings were used. There were dozens of incompatible container systems in the US alone. Among the biggest operators, the [[Matson Navigation Company]] had a fleet of {{convert|24|ft|m|2|adj=on}} containers, while [[Sea-Land Service, Inc]] used {{convert|35|ft|m|2|adj=on}} containers. The standard sizes and fitting and reinforcement norms that now exist evolved out of a lengthy and complex series of compromises among international shipping companies, European railroads, US railroads, and US trucking companies.  Everyone had to sacrifice something.  For example, to McLean's frustration, Sea-Land's 35-foot container was not adopted as one of the standard container sizes.{{sfn|Levinson|2016|p=188}}  In the end, four important ISO ([[International Organization for Standardization]]) recommendations standardized containerization globally:<ref name="Rushton">Rushton, A., Oxley, J., Croucher, P. (2004). ''The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management''. Kogan Page: London.</ref>

* January 1968: '''[[ISO 668]]''' defined the terminology, dimensions and ratings.
* July 1968: '''R-790''' defined the identification markings.
* January 1970: '''R-1161''' made recommendations about corner fittings.
* October 1970: '''R-1897''' set out the minimum internal dimensions of general purpose freight containers.

Based on these standards, the first [[Twenty-foot equivalent unit|TEU]] container ship was the Japanese ''{{interlanguage link|Hakone Maru|de|Hakone Maru|jp|箱根丸 (コンテナ船)}}'' from shipowner NYK, which started sailing in 1968 and could carry 752 TEU containers.

In the US, containerization and other advances in shipping were impeded by the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] (ICC), which was created in 1887 to keep railroads from using monopolist pricing and rate discrimination, but fell victim to [[regulatory capture]]. By the 1960s, ICC approval was required before any shipper could carry different items in the same vehicle or change rates. The fully integrated systems in the US today became possible only after the ICC's regulatory oversight was cut back (and abolished in 1995). Trucking and rail were deregulated in the 1970s and maritime rates were deregulated in 1984.<ref>{{cite news | last =Postrel | first =Virginia | title =The Box that Changed the World | work =Dynamist.com | date =2006-03-23 | url =http://www.dynamist.com/weblog/archives/002097.html | access-date =2008-02-14 | archive-date =2008-03-09 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080309175320/http://www.dynamist.com/weblog/archives/002097.html | url-status =dead }}</ref>

[[Double-stack rail transport|Double-stacked rail transport]], where containers are stacked two high on railway cars, was introduced in the US. The concept was developed by Sea-Land and the Southern Pacific railroad. The first standalone double-stack container car (or single-unit {{convert|40|ft|m|1|adj=on}} COFC well car) was delivered in July 1977. The five-unit well car, the industry standard, appeared in 1981. Initially, these double-stack railway cars were deployed in regular train service. Ever since American President Lines initiated in 1984 a dedicated double-stack container train service between Los Angeles and Chicago, transport volumes increased rapidly.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bernhardt |first=Karl-Heinz |date=December 1986 |title=Double-stack unit train container service: its commercial impact and value to the military skipper |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA176892.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825143255/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA176892.pdf |archive-date=August 25, 2022 |access-date=August 25, 2022 |website=[[Defense Technical Information Center]] |pages=33–36 |language=en }}</ref>

=== Effects ===
[[File:Shanghai Express Port of Rotterdam 17-Apr-2006.jpg|thumb|''Shanghai Express'', [[Port of Rotterdam]]]]

Containerization greatly reduced the expense of [[international trade]] and increased its speed, especially of consumer goods and commodities. It also dramatically changed the character of port cities worldwide. Prior to highly mechanized container transfers, crews of 20 to 22 [[longshoremen]] would pack individual cargoes into the hold of a ship. After containerization, large crews of longshoremen were not necessary at port facilities, and the profession changed drastically.

Meanwhile, the port facilities needed to support containerization changed. One effect was the decline of some ports and the rise of others. At the [[Port of San Francisco]], the former piers used for loading and unloading were no longer required, but there was little room to build the vast holding lots needed for storing and sorting containers in transit between different transport modes. As a result, the Port of San Francisco essentially ceased to function as a major commercial port, but the neighboring [[Port of Oakland]] emerged as the second largest on the US West Coast. A similar fate occurred with the relationship between the [[Port of New York and New Jersey|ports of Manhattan and New Jersey]]. In the UK, the [[Port of London]] and [[Port of Liverpool]] declined in importance. Meanwhile, Britain's [[Port of Felixstowe]] and [[Port of Rotterdam]] in the Netherlands emerged as major ports.

In general, containerization caused [[inland port]]s on waterways incapable of receiving deep-[[Draft (hull)|draft]] ship traffic to decline in favor of [[seaport]]s, which then built vast container terminals next to deep oceanfront harbors in lieu of the dockfront warehouses and finger piers that had formerly handled break bulk cargo. With intermodal containers, the jobs of packing, unpacking, and sorting cargoes could be performed far from the point of embarkation. Such work shifted to so-called "[[dry port]]s" and gigantic warehouses in rural inland towns, where land and labor were much cheaper than in oceanfront cities. This fundamental transformation of where warehouse work was performed freed up valuable waterfront real estate near the [[central business district]]s of port cities around the world for [[redevelopment]] and led to a plethora of waterfront revitalization projects (such as [[List of warehouse districts|warehouse districts]]).<ref name="Hein_Page_821">{{cite book |last1=Hein |first1=Carola |editor1-last=Clark |editor1-first=Peter |title=The Oxford Handbook of Cities in World History |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0191637698 |pages=809–827 [821]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z09oAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA821 |chapter=Port Cities}}</ref>

The effects of containerization rapidly spread beyond the shipping industry. Containers were quickly adopted by trucking and rail transport industries for cargo transport not involving sea transport. Manufacturing also evolved to adapt to take advantage of containers. Companies that once sent small consignments began grouping them into containers. Many cargoes are now designed to precisely fit containers. The reliability of containers made [[Just-in-time manufacturing|just in time manufacturing]] possible as component suppliers could deliver specific components on regular fixed schedules.

In 2004, global container traffic was 354 million [[Twenty-foot equivalent unit|TEU]]s, of which 82 percent were handled by the world's top 100 container ports.<ref>{{cite book | author = James Jixian Wang | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PfOcUn9GCc4C&pg=PA71 | title = Ports, Cities, and Global Supply Chains | language = en | publisher = Ashgate Publishing |year=2007| oclc = 1074025516 |pages =61–72|isbn = 978-0754670544}}</ref>