The Box: "Container"

The efficiency of the ships handling the containers is unbelievable and remarkable.  It would only make sense that humans organize the containers because they can put them wherever they want.  In fact, this is not the case and of course, technology is the answer once again.  The computers are programmed in advance to determine the order in which the containers are to be removed from the ship.  This allows for a speed unloading/loading process without destabilizing the ship.  Furthermore, the computer programs are so detailed that they have the container number and exact time that the containers will be picked up at.  In addition to picking up a container, the computers are also programmed to drop off a container to be increasingly efficient.  For example, “incoming container ABLQ 998435 should be summoned to the terminal at 10:45 a.m., and that outgoing container JKFC 119395, a 40-foot box bound for Newark, carrying 76,800 pounds of machinery and currently stacked at yard location A-52-G-6, will be loaded third from the bottom in the fourth slot in the second row of the forward hold.”

The development of the shipping container has significantly influenced and contributed to globalization.  The container shipping processes is the most effective because, in a sense, everyone is doing their role without wasted time.  While one freight is dropping off several containers from the waters, a truck is readily available to transports these goods from point A to point B on land.  These containers have spread globally because they are the cheapest and most easy method for transportation.  With this, domestic businesses quickly turned into international business and the shipping container was beginning to be used worldwide. 

The international manufacturers and business are gaining form the transformation of global transportation because they are able to sell more products.  By exposing their company’s goods to many more individuals around the world, these customers are able to purchase the goods, which would benefit the company.  With the shipping containers, the companies are allowed to transport bundles of their goods from various locations for a cheap shipping cost. 

The downside of the transformation of global transportation is that jobs are being lost due to the increasingly technological advances.  The computers are programmed so not manual labor is required.  In addition, computers are a lot smarter and can move a lot faster than humans.  “A few crew members can manage an oceangoing vessel longer than three football fields.  A trucker can deposit a trailer at a customer's loading dock, hook up another trailer, and drive on immediately.”  In the long run, programmed computers prove to be most efficient and effective for businesses.