As we electrify everything everywhere all at once, it’s time to consider what will happen with The Box. Since the 1950s, containers have transformed logistics globally, taking bigger and bigger pieces of the growing maritime shipping pie. Containers can be 60 feet long, weigh tens of tons, be pulled dozens of meters upwards out of ships and moved kilometers inside ports. What’s going to happen with all of the machinery that moves those loaded boxes of steel?
Why The Box? That’s the name of a strongly recommended book by Marc Levinson. The subtitle is more informative: “How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger”.