Concepts

Containerization

Citation Formats

General Reference

Transport Atlas. "Containerization." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://transport.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/containerization.

APA Style

Transport Atlas. (n.d.). Containerization. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://transport.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/containerization

BibTeX

@misc{transportatlas-containerization,
  author = {Transport Atlas},
  title = {Containerization},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://transport.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/containerization},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The practice of moving freight in standardized, stackable steel boxes that can be transferred between ship, rail and truck without unloading and repacking the goods inside them. Pioneered commercially by Malcom McLean, whose converted tanker Ideal X carried the first successful container shipment in 1956, containerization sharply cut loading costs and theft, and it is widely credited with making the modern scale of global trade possible.

Facts

Core Concern

Standardizing freight into uniform boxes movable between modes without handling the goods themselves. 1

Sources

1. Wikipedia: SS Ideal X

WikipediaOverviewView the Source

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