The origin of Containers

Containers prototype

In the early 19th century, Dr. Anderson of the United Kingdom put forward the idea of ​​containers transportation.

In 1814, the Englishman George Stephenson made the first "leather boots" steam locomotive for the Chillingworth coal mine, which was able to pull eight open coal carriages with a load of 30 tons and a speed of 6.4 kilometers per hour. The open compartment is framed by square wood, the wooden strips are made of slats, and the top is uncovered. The style is similar to that of the wagon trailer at the time. After that, there was a closed passenger car with doors and windows.

In 1845, a fully enclosed freight train began to appear on the British railways, and the cabinet was made of iron and wood.

In the second half of the 19th century, a railway pallet with a moving frame appeared in Lancashire, England, for transporting cotton and cotton, commonly known as the “Lancai Tray”, which can be seen as the prototype of a containers.

The emergence of containers transportation

        Due to the separation between railways, highways and maritime transport, containers transport was once difficult to connect effectively and development was extremely slow. Until an American, Malcolm McLean proposed that containers transportation should be carried out by "sea and land transport", and it really began to transport containerss in the modern sense, and its advantages began to show.

In 1956, the Trans-Atlantic Steamship Company, acquired by Marklin, carried out 58 large containerss on an unmodified ship and sailed from New York to Houston, the first of its kind to "sea containers transport." The first shipment was an exciting success, with the cost per ton of cargo being reduced from $5.83 to $0.15. In 1960, the company was renamed "Sea and Land Intermodal Company".

In 1965, Hailu Intermodal Company developed a plan for the world of large containers ships. Since then, marine containers transportation has become a common mode of transportation in international trade, and many large shipping companies have followed the practice of land and sea transport companies.

Nowadays, containers shipping is the main mode of transportation in international trade, and we, Original link Logistics  are perfessional in this regard, if you need to handle related business, please feel free to contact us by mail: alex@ol-log.com.