How shipping containers have changed modern life

As we see today, the effect of intermodalism and containerization has changed not only the shipping industry, but also modern life as we know it. By making the process more efficient and faster, labor costs fell and ships spent more time at sea than in ports, resulting in lower shipping costs around the world.

Affordable international shipping has become one of the decisive factors in the new era of globalization in which we live today. Products from all over the world are now more accessible at lower prices than before intermodalism became the standard.

How shipping containers have changed modern cities

Dramatic changes in international shipping have affected ports and cities that depend on them for economic growth. Thanks to intermodalism, ports located closer to rail and highway routes became preferable to other traditional port cities that were older and not designed for easy movement by trucks and trains.

As more containers are transported by larger ships, storage space has become a priority for ports. New ports with plenty of green space for additional facilities flourished, while older ones in densely populated cities fell into disrepair.

It is no exaggeration to say that shipping containers have influenced the economic growth and decline of many major cities around the world. In America, new ports such as Oakland prospered with the extra space they could offer, while other, more populous ports declined.

Modern delivery method

Even for ordinary people and businesses, international shipping is efficient and easy. Today, you can turn to an international freight forwarder who will arrange for the container to be picked up at the port, shipped to a port near your destination, and unloaded onto a truck that will take it to your destination. Just recently, such a journey would have been a logistical nightmare.

How shipping containers have facilitated global trade

Shipping containers have also influenced the modern day-to-day lives of millions of people. Thanks to the relatively low cost of shipping goods from country to country, the average person has access to more food and goods than ever before. The production of a single product can now occur in stages around the world before it reaches the store shelf.