Editing Containerization (section)

== Twenty-first century ==
[[File:Maersk Virginia, Fremantle, 2015 (01).JPG|thumb|''Maersk Virginia'' departing from [[Fremantle Harbour|Fremantle]], Australia]]

{{As of|2009}}, approximately 90% of non-[[bulk cargo]] worldwide is moved by containers stacked on transport ships;<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Ebeling | first = C. E. | title = Evolution of a Box | journal = Invention and Technology | volume = 23 | issue = 4 | pages = 8–9 | date = Winter 2009 | issn = 8756-7296}}</ref> 26% of all container [[transshipment]] is carried out in China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.SHP.GOOD.TU |title=Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) &#124; Data &#124; Table |publisher=Data.worldbank.org |access-date=2011-11-28}}</ref> For example, in 2009 there were 105,976,701 transshipments in China (both international and coastal, excluding Hong Kong), 21,040,096 in Hong Kong (which is listed separately), and only 34,299,572 in the United States. In 2005, some 18 million containers made over 200 million trips per year. Some ships can carry over {{TEU|14,500|first=yes}}, such as the ''[[Emma Mærsk]]'', {{convert|396|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} long, launched in August 2006. It has been predicted that, at some point, container ships will be constrained in size only by the depth of the [[Straits of Malacca]], one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, linking the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. This so-called [[Malaccamax]] size constrains a ship to dimensions of {{convert|470|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|60|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} wide.{{sfn|Levinson|2006}}

Few foresaw the extent of the influence of containerization on the [[shipping industry]]. In the 1950s, Harvard University economist [[Benjamin Chinitz]] predicted that containerization would benefit New York by allowing it to ship its industrial goods more cheaply to the Southern US than other areas, but he did not anticipate that containerization might make it cheaper to import such goods from abroad. Most economic studies of containerization merely assumed that shipping companies would begin to replace older forms of transportation with containerization, but did not predict that the process of containerization itself would have a more direct influence on the choice of producers and increase the total volume of trade.{{sfn|Levinson|2006}}

The widespread use of ISO standard containers has driven modifications in other freight-moving standards, gradually forcing removable truck bodies or [[swap body|swap bodies]] into standard sizes and shapes (though without the strength needed to be stacked), and changing completely the worldwide use of freight [[pallet]]s that fit into ISO containers or into commercial vehicles.

Improved cargo security is an important benefit of containerization. Once the cargo is loaded into a container, it is not touched again until it reaches its destination.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.courtesytransferinc.com/detroit-michigan-intermodal-transport-and-drayage/|title=Detroit, Michigan Intermodal Transport and Drayage {{!}} Courtesy Transfer Inc.|work=Courtesy Transfer Inc.|access-date=2018-02-25|language=en-US}}</ref> The cargo is not visible to casual viewers, and thus is less likely to be stolen. Container doors are usually sealed so that tampering is more evident. Some containers are fitted with electronic monitoring devices and can be remotely monitored for changes in air pressure, which happens when the doors are opened. This reduced thefts that had long plagued the shipping industry. Recent developments have focused on the use of intelligent logistics optimization to further enhance security.

The use of the same basic sizes of containers across the globe has lessened the problems caused by incompatible [[rail gauge]] sizes. The majority of the rail networks in the world operate on a {{RailGauge|sg}} gauge track known as [[standard gauge]], but some countries (such as Russia, India, Finland, and Lithuania) use [[broad gauge|broader gauges]], while others in Africa and South America use [[narrow gauge|narrower gauges]]. The use of container trains in all these countries makes transshipment between trains of different gauges easier.

Containers have become a popular way to [[Car shipping|ship private cars and other vehicles]] overseas using 20- or 40-foot containers. Unlike [[roll-on/roll-off]] vehicle shipping, personal effects can be loaded into the container with the vehicle, allowing easy international relocation.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}

In July, 2020, The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), a non-profit group established to further digitalisation of container shipping technology standards, published standards for the digital exchange of operational vessel schedules (OVS).<ref>{{cite news |title=DCSA publishes standards for digital schedules |url=https://www.globalcargonews.com/dcsa-publishes-standards-for-digital-schedules |access-date=8 July 2020 |issue=8 July 2020 |publisher=Global Cargo News |archive-date=8 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708125624/https://www.globalcargonews.com/dcsa-publishes-standards-for-digital-schedules |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Contrary to ocean shipping containers owned by the shippers, a persisting trend in the industry is for (new) units to be purchased by leasing companies. Leasing business accounted for 55% of new container purchases in 2017, with their box fleet growing at 6.7%, compared to units of transport operators growing by just 2.4% more TEU, said global shipping consultancy Drewry in their 'Container Census & Leasing and Equipment Insight', leading to a leased share of the global ocean container fleet reaching 54% by 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://axxessintl.com/en/ocean-carriers-rely-increasingly-on-leased-containers/ |title=Ocean carriers rely increasingly on leased containers – Axxess International |access-date=2021-08-27 |archive-date=2021-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827222517/https://axxessintl.com/en/ocean-carriers-rely-increasingly-on-leased-containers/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2021, the average time to unload a container in Asia was 27 seconds, the average time in Northern Europe was 46 seconds, and the average time in North America was 76 seconds.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rivero |first=Nicolás |url=https://qz.com/2065671/cargo-ships-are-so-full-that-ports-are-struggling-to-unload-them/ |title=Cargo ships are so stuffed that ports are struggling to unload them |work=[[Quartz (publication)]] |date=2021-09-28 |accessdate=2021-09-29 }}</ref>