Container Shipping

The arrival of air travel and the impact of the containerisation revolution on the nature of shipping rendered the ocean liner obsolete in the 1960s and 70s. Air travel replaced their scheduled passenger voyages, while container ships fundamentally changed the nature of the shipping industry and replaced the cargo operations associated with ocean liners. As a result the ocean liners had to adapt or disappear forever and they evolved into full time cruise liners and thus was born the modern cruise industry.

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 favourable reports about the use of containers, the concept of containerisation seemed far-fetched to all but the most forward-thinking in the early 1950s. For the container to succeed, ships would have to be modified. Likewise, ports and inland transport systems around the world would have to be upgraded to meet a new standard. Industry leaders, as well as customers, were sceptical. Before this advance, cargo was literally manhandled. Cranes with slings unloaded crates onto pallets. Dockers then muscled the crates into place, and forklifts moved the pallets to warehouses. Damage and delays were common. Containerisation changed all that forever.

American President Lines was an early pioneer and 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. Today the containerisation revolution has taken over the world and is the dominant form of ocean transport.

In 1965 Overseas Containers Ltd (OCL) was formed as a container shipping consortium with the partners being British & Commonwealth Shipping Group,  the Alfred Holt Group (parent company of Blue Funnel, Glen Line and Elder Dempster), P&O Group and the Furness Withy Group. The new container shipping company, Overseas Containers Ltd (OCL), was one of the British pioneers of container shipping.

In 1966 Atlantic Container Line (ACL) was formed as a container shipping consortium with the partners being Cunard Line, CGT French Line, Holland America Line, Swedish American Line, Transatlantic Redereii and Wallenius Lines.

In 1968 Associated Container Transportation (ACT) was formed as a container shipping consortium with the partners being Ellerman Group, Blue Star Line, Ben Line, Harrison Lines and Cunard (Port Line).

By the late 1960s and into the 1970s most of the major shipping companies had embraced the containerisation revolution.

In the 1980s the concept of intermodalism was developed. this expansion on the concept of containerisation would not only bring the transport industry into the present, but would also greatly facilitate future growth.

Many consumers are aware that the products they purchase come from other parts of the world, but few realize the role that intermodalism - the seamless movement of containerised goods using different modes of transport like ships, trains, and trucks - plays in the availability of just about everything from jeans to personal computers. It is thought that the impact of intermodalism on the global economy has been greater than that of the U.S. space programme of the 1960s. In just 15 years, intermodalism has had a tremendous impact. In earlier eras, the movement of cargo was a slow, often-delayed process.

Today, the world's vast intermodal network supports an environment in which shipments are in almost perpetual motion. The result has been a significant increase in the volume of shipments moving through this efficient system and a world-wide rise in commercial activity. Today's huge container ships are loaded and discharged at state-of-the-art terminals, where thousands of containers of valuable commodities are then efficiently transferred to dockside trains that carry them to myriad inland destinations and ultimately to today's consumers. The containerisation revolution therefore has reached the road haulage and rail industries and the result is intermodal transport via a seamless worldwide network. In a sense, the revolution in cargo handling that began in the 1950s with the advent of the container has come full circle. A simple idea has grown into the complex, worldwide intermodal network delivers the many products we all use nearly every day.

Globalisation is changing the world. Business is now operating on a completely new global scale and this is leading to consolidation in many industries whereby fewer, larger companies take an increasing share of global business. Many industries and market sectors are affected by globalisation including transport, logistics, cruising, holidays & tourism, retail, manufacturing etc. This consolidation on a global scale is resulting in larger assets such as container ships and aircraft. For example giant container ships are increasingly become the standard used on world trade routes. Then in aviation there is the development of giant aircraft such as the Airbus A380. Logistics activities are becoming centred and clustered around key hubs. Global transport and logistic companies located at these hubs are increasingly aiming to provide a seamless intermodal integrated service linking sea, air, rail, road and inland waterways. To the customer it is one service.

In today's globalised and fast paced world of international trade, business is defined and redefined every second via the revolution that is the internet and information technology. This high speed information exchange is in part responsible for today's growth of international trade. If the basic, yet powerful concept of connecting people and products via the physical movement of goods is the hardware of the shipping business, information is the software that makes it run. And it’s the ability to combine assets and ideas - hardware and software - to meet each customer’s transport goals that enables a company to move beyond its history to prosper in the future. The embracing of information technology by container shipping lines is the final element in the containerisation revolution. As a result customers in today's internet age can now access up-to-the-minute information on websites. Make no mistake, customers are using this information as never before. They print bills of lading, trace shipments, and get information in real time via today's IT technology. Thus many container shipping companies today provide customers around the world with container transport services through a network combining high quality intermodal operations with state of the art information technology. By combining world-class seamless intermodal operations with leading-edge IT and e-commerce capabilities, container shipping companies provide their customers with the full range of transport solutions, including seamless door-to-door services.

Today as a result of consolidation and globalisation the container shipping industry is dominated by several major global players.

Container Shipping Information Service (CSIS)

www.shipsandboxes.com

GREAT BRITAIN:

Swire Group

http://www.swire.com

http://www.swireshipping.com

http://www.tasmanorient.com

http://www.polynesialine.com

Borchard Group

http://www.borlines.com

http://www.gracechurch.uk.com

FRANCE:

CMA-CGM Group

http://www.cma-cgm.com

http://www.anl.com.au

http://www.delmas.com

http://www.macandrews.com

http://www.otal.com

http://www.cncline.com.tw

http://www.comanav.com

http://www.shipsusl.com

http://www.rsc.fr

http://www.landtransportinternational.com

http://www.rail-link-europe.com

http://www.progeco.fr

http://www.cmacgm-log.com

DENMARK:

A.P. Moller-Maersk Group

http://www.maersk.com

http://www.maerskline.com

http://www.maersklogistics.com

http://www.apmterminals.com

http://www.maerskbox.com

http://www.safmarine.com

NORWAY:

Star Shipping

http://www.starshipping.com

FINLAND:

Containerships Group

http://www.containerships.fi

ICELAND:

Eimskip

http://www.eimskip.com

Samskip

http://www.samskip.com

GERMANY:

Hapag-Lloyd Group

http://www.hapag-lloyd.com

Hamburg Sud Group

http://www.hamburgsud.com

http://www.alianca.com.br

http://www.costacontainer.com

Senator Lines

ITALY:

Grimaldi Group

http://www.grimaldi.napoli.it

http://www.grimaldi-ferries.com

http://www.gldlines.com

SWITZERLAND:

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)

http://www.mscgva.ch

Matson Line

http://www.matson.com

Atlantic Container Line (ACL)

http://www.aclcargo.com

Compania Sud-Americana de Vapores S.A. (CSAV)

http://www.csav.com

ISRAEL:

Zim Lines

http://www.zim.com

JAPAN:

NYK Line (Nippon Yusen Kaisha) Group

http://www.nyk.com

http://www.nykline.com

http://www.nykroro.com

http://www.nyklogistics.com

Mitsui OSK Lines

K Line (Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha)

http://www.kline.co.jp

SINGAPORE:

Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) Group

http://www.nol.com.sg

http://www.apl.com

Pacific International Lines

http://www.pilship.com

Sea Consortium

http://www.seacon.com.sg

Evergreen Group

http://www.evergreen.com.tw

http://www.evergreen-line.com

http://www.evergreen-marine.com

http://www.evergreen-marine.co.uk

http://www.evergreen-marine.co.hk

http://www.italiamarittima.com

Yang Ming Group

http://www.yml.com.tw

Wan Hai Lines

http://www.wanhai.com

SOUTH KOREA:

Hanjin Group

http://www.hanjin.co.kr

Hyundai Merchant Marine

Korea Marine Transport (KMTC) Line

China Shipping Group

http://www.cnshipping.com

China Ocean Shipping (COSCO) Group

http://www.cosco.com

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL)

http://www.ooilgroup.com

http://www.oocl.com