The Box

How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger

By: Marc Levinson

Business & Economics

in april 1956, a refitted oil tanker carried fifty-eight shipping containers from newark to houston. from that modest beginning, container shipping developed into a huge industry that made the boom in global trade possible. "the box" tells the dramatic story of the container's creation, the decade of struggle before it was widely adopted, and the sweeping economic consequences of the sharp fall...