The transport of goods via ship has been around for centuries. The oldest boat ever discovered is said to be the Pesse canoe found in the Netherlands, which is believed to have been built around 8,000 BCE. However, it’s the Austronesian-speaking people who are credited as the first actual ocean-going people — 2,000 years ahead of the Vikings.
Container ships’ origins can be traced back to 1955 when Malcolm P. McLean customized an oil tanker to transport his trucks. And today, most of the world’s goods are transported over the sea.
General
- The global shipping container industry was $8.7 billion in 2019. It is expected to reach $12 billion by 2027.
- About 95% of the cargo in the world is shipped.
- The breakdown of the world seaborne trade is 52% container, 22% tanker, 20% general cargo, and 6% dry bulk.
- There are about 55,000 merchant ships that trade internationally, including 15,106 general cargo ships, 12,258 bulk cargo carriers, 7,350 crude oil tankers, 7,027 ro-ro passenger ships, 5,664 chemical tankers, 5,307 container ships, and 2,031 liquefied natural gas tankers.
- Europe controls 39.5% of the commercial fleet in the world.
- 80% of shipping containers in the world come from just three manufacturers in China: CIMC, CXIC, and DFIC.
- Shipping containers usually last for about 20 years.
- Sea freight usually takes about a month from China to the U.S.
Ports
- There are 835 active ports around the world.
- In the U.S. alone, there are more than 360 commercial ports.
- The Port of Shanghai has the greatest cargo volume in the world. It handles approximately 43.5 million TEU containers.
- The Port of Los Angeles has the greatest cargo volume in the U.S. It handles approximately 9.2 million TEU containers.
- The Port of Los Angeles is made up of 7,500 acres of land and reaches over 43 miles of shoreline.
- The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handle about 40% of receiving containers in the U.S.
- About 1,000 people are employed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department.
Sizes
- The biggest cargo ship in the world is the Ever Ace, which set a new TEU record. Four football fields long, it can hold upward of 23,000 containers. It was built in 2021 for Evergreen Marine Corporation, a Taiwanese shipping company, and it sails under the Panama flag.
- In the past 20 years, the average container ship size has doubled.
- Shipping containers for cargo ships come in a variety of sizes but these are the two most popular sizes: the TEU is 20 feet and the FEU is 40 feet.