The Containership Revolution, Essay Example

Containerization was a trend in the shipping industry that followed the increase in trade after the Second World War. According to the review of Cudahy (2006, p. 5), the main reason for moving to container storage and shipment was that “overseas trade has assumed unimaginable proportions in the past half century”. The first container-ship was called Ideal X, starting off back in 1656. On the 50^th anniversary of the first cargo delivery made using container-ships, a huge volume of goods were already transported by massive tankers worldwide, in the now globalized world.

Due to the increased impact of globalization on worldwide trading, according to Notteboom & Rodrigue (2009), in recent years companies created container transshipment hubs to make deliveries more effective. Strong logistic hubs are present on every continent, however, companies are not able to have full control over the entire supply chain.

Notteboom & Rodrigue(2009, p. 6) state that the industry of container based transport has already reached maturity around 2010. That means that there are only two ways the industry can move in the future: divergence or ongoing growth. However, it is important to note that with the development of new supply chain management approaches, an innovative way of looking at production and distribution networks is needed. Container transportation has recently become the preferred option for most companies, due to its scalability and simplicity. While container sizes are currently standard, just like palettes’ measurements, however, these do not always serve the best interest of ship owners, as “a variety of container sizes adds up to the logistical problems of allocating containers to specific slots on a ship” (Notteboom & Rodrigue, 2009, p. 15). Therefore, in order to improve supply chain management, companies need to focus more on organization, planning, and advanced automation methods.

References

Cudahy, B. J. (2006). The containership revolution: Malcom McLean’s 1956 innovation goes global. TR News, (246).

Notteboom, T., & Rodrigue, J. P. (2009). The future of containerization: perspectives from maritime and inland freight distribution. Geojournal, 74(1), 7-22.