In the old days, the loading and unloading of mixed cargo cost a great deal of time and money. This was all changed by the container: transport became a lot more affordable, the loading and unloading process took up less time and transporting the cargo became safer than ever.

The container was first used in the United States, in 1956. A decade later, the first container ship arrived in Rotterdam. Nowadays, over 90% of all goods worldwide are transported by container.

In the old days, the loading and unloading of mixed cargo cost a great deal of time and money. This was all changed by the container: transport became a lot more affordable, the loading and unloading process took up less time and transporting the cargo became safer than ever.

The container was first used in the United States, in 1956. A decade later, the first container ship arrived in Rotterdam. Nowadays, over 90% of all goods worldwide are transported by container. Containers primarily owe their success to the fact that they are easy to transfer and can be effortlessly moved by various modes of transport. Furthermore, virtually any product can be transported in a container.

Globalisation

Modern container ships have once and for all changed the way goods are transported around the globe. As such, the use of containers in the transport of mixed cargo - also called containerisation - plays an important role in globalisation. And it works the other way round too: the further opening of global markets will step up the growth of the container sector. The figures of the past few years show that Rotterdam is not trailing behind in this respect. Between 1995 and 2007, the port's transfer volume more than doubled. The other international seaports, particularly in Asia, are also growing as a result of the explosive growth of the container sector.

Low transport costs

In recent years, the production of many goods, like refrigerators, televisions and washing machines, has increasingly been relocated to the so-called 'low-wage countries'. Container ships subsequently transport the products across the globe. These vessels are becoming larger and larger, reducing the transport costs per product. The following list provides several examples of the transport costs of products that arrive in the Rotterdam port in a 40-foot container:

In 1970, sea transport constituted roughly 10% of a product's final sale price. Today, this is as little as 3% on average. The transport costs are the lowest for small products: take a pair of shoes manufactured in Asia, for example. The costs of shipping a pair of these to Europe are as low as EUR 0.99. At a retail price of EUR 110, the share of the transport costs is only 0.9%, in other words.

Ideal way to pack goods

The container is an ideal way to pack goods. For instance, a 40-foot container can accommodate:

• 54 refrigerators
• 100 washing machines
• 320 televisions
• 350 bicycles
• 640 vacuum cleaners
• 1,176 boxes of wine
• 1,390 VCRs
• 5,000 pairs of jeans
• 9,000 pairs of trainers
• 100,000 CDs