Once the Boomerang Box gets into port on a ship, what happens next? How do the goods it carries get transported to where they’re needed?

If you’ve been following the Boomerang Box, you probably know the answer: when on land, the Boomerang Box travels by truck or train. In fact, one of the reasons containers like the Boomerang Box are used to ship goods all over the world is that it is very easy to unload a cargo container from a ship and then load it directly onto a truck trailer or stacktrain so that it can continue its journey. The goods inside the container — cotton or almonds or computer monitors — don’t even get disturbed.

Now, while the Boomerang Box itself might never have come to your town, chances are you see goods being moved by truck every day. Think about it: trucks haul the food that is sold in your neighborhood grocery store. Trucks keep the shelves full at your local computer or clothes store. Trucks haul raw materials and finished products to and from manufacturing plants. And, if your family has moved, it’s likely a truck hauled all your things to your new home.

Trucks are a very important part of international trade. It wouldn’t do much good to ship the Boomerang Box halfway across the world only to have it get stuck at a dock! Trucks are needed for that final part of the journey. And trucks are how Boomerang Box Jr., the 20-foot companion to the Boomerang Box will get from school to school to show off its wonderful traveling classroom.

In the United States, there are over 28,000 “for-hire carriers” or trucking companies that ship goods from place to place over land. Some of these companies are very large and own more than 500 trucks; others are “owner-operators,” people who make a living by owning and driving their own truck. These trucks carry all sorts of goods — from ice cream and fresh produce to computer games and clothes — to every part of the United States. In fact, in the United States, trucks carry about 77% of the goods that are shipped within the country; 10% go by rail; 3% by air; 3% by pipeline; and 7% by water. In the United States, and in many other countries as well, trucks keep goods moving!

So whenever you read that the Boomerang Box has arrived at a port, you won’t need to wonder. Chances are it’s finishing its journey on a truck or a train. We’ll learn more about trains in the next Trade Topic.

1. Learn more about Gerry Gorham and his company, Bay Area Container. He’ll be helping Boomerang Box Jr. on its first journey!
2. Pick any product on sale at a store near you: apples or bananas at your neighborhood grocery store, tennis shoes at your local shoe store, etc. Find out where that product came from and how it got to your store. Was a truck involved? Write a one-page paper summarizing what you learn.