Until recently, cargo was loaded and unloaded using slings. Click image for larger version.

Imagine a business so steeped in tradition that it used centuries-old labor practices just 50 years ago. In fact, this was the case with the shipping industry just after World War II, when cargo handling was as labor-intensive as it had been in 1848, when APL’s predecessor opened its doors for business.

However, a new means of transporting goods had recently been developed. It was a simple steel box — the container — and it would soon revolutionize international trade. Yet, for as many benefits as it afforded, it also presented unique challenges.

To realize the magnitude of this innovation, it’s necessary to understand how goods were transported prior to containerization. Before this advance, cargo was literally manhandled. Cranes with slings unloaded crates onto pallets. Longshoremen then muscled the crates into place, and forklifts moved the pallets to warehouses. Damage and delays were common.

Even the first containers made cargo operations more efficient.

Like many 20th century innovations, containers were born out of a sense of urgency. First used by the U.S. government during the war, they proved the ideal means of quickly and efficiently unloading and distributing supplies, which was of paramount importance at the time. Instead of shipping commodities in bulk, army and navy specialists began to mix cargo by loading freight onto pallets, then loading the pallets into specially constructed “boxes.”

For the private sector, containers held the promise of secure, dry storage of cargo and controlled climates and added shelf life for perishables. Yet, despite favorable reports about the use of containers, the concept of containerization seemed far-fetched to all but the most forward-thinking in the early 1950s.

Inside a modern container designed to transport garments.

For the container to succeed, ships would have to be modified. Likewise, ports and inland transportation systems around the world would have to be upgraded to meet a new standard. Industry leaders, as well as customers, were skeptical.

One of APL’s technologically advanced and environmentally friendly refrigerated containers.

Not surprisingly, APL’s management was an early proponent of the container for transporting commodities traditionally shipped in bulk — like lumber and steel. The company soon saw the tremendous potential for the efficiency afforded by this basic tool of trade. In addition, APL was a leader in the research and development of controlled temperature containers. These “reefers” now make it possible to transport goods like climate-sensitive film and perishable seafood all over the world.

Nearly five decades later, the majority of dry cargo moves in containers. And customers around the world are reaping the benefits of a ground-breaking advance that started with a concept as simple as a steel box.