Containerization

Description

Containerization has revolutionized cargo shipping. The widespread use of ISO standard containers has driven modifications in other freight-moving standards, gradually forcing removable truck bodies or swap bodies into the standard sizes and shapes (though without the strength needed to be stacked), and changing completely the worldwide use of freight pallets that fit into ISO containers or into commercial vehicles. Improved cargo security is also an important benefit of containerization. The cargo is not visible to the casual viewer and thus is less likely to be stolen and the doors of the containers are generally sealed so that tampering is more evident. This has reduced the "falling off the truck" syndrome that long plagued the shipping industry. Use of the same basic sizes of containers across the globe has lessened the problems caused by incompatible rail gauge sizes in different countries.

Enablers:

1. Information and Communication Technologies
2. Economies of scale
3. Transportation security
4. Container handling facilities
5. http://scenariothinking.org/wiki/index.php/Technical_Innovation_in_the_supply_chain

http://scenariothinking.org/wiki/index.php/Influence_of_the_World_Trade_Organization_%28WTO%29

Inhibitors:

1. The oil price
2. The financial crisis
3. Increased national protectiveness

Paradigms:

The succesfull introduction of the container in global transportation is leading to a standardization of transportation, reducing transportation costs and increasing transportation efficiency.

Web Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/transportation security http://www.imo.org/ http://www.unctad.org http://www.espo.be