by Peregrine Storrs-Fox, Risk Management Director, TT Club

The physical integrity of the shipping container is, of course, the primary reason why it has developed such a dominant position in transporting general cargo around the world.

What many called a revolution in global trade was initiated in the late 1950s and 60s when the introduction of metal containers, later standardised to twenty and forty feet in length, challenged the traditional break-bulk methods of cargo handling.

At once these relatively simple metal boxes improved security, transformed port operations and ship turnaround times, and, crucially, allowed the integrity of the load to be maintained intact from the shipper's premises to those of the consignee, utilising modes of land transport as well as ships.

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