Trade Win No. 1
The box that grew trade
Today, roughly 80 percent of global goods trade moves by ship, but until Malcolm McLean’s shipping container arrived, trade logistics were fragmented and costly. McLean’s invention was a breakthrough, but its true potential took time and concerted effort to realize. By the 1960s, the standardized container allowed goods to move seamlessly between sea, rail, and road without repacking. Trade saw a structural shift: port times shrank, losses fell, and shipping costs dropped. Schedules became predictable, and businesses of all sizes could scale production across borders. SMEs gained access to distant markets. The revolution was not automatic. Engineering solved the mechanics; standardization made the system universal. Global collaboration, spanning public and private actors, aligned customs procedures, port operations, safety regimes, and technical specifications so one box could be handled anywhere. The containerization of global trade is a proven win in international trade that fuels growth and development across every region.
Before containers, shipping was labor-intensive and slow. Cargo arrived by road, rail, or barge, was unpacked at the dock, stored if needed, then loaded piece by piece into a ship—only to be handled again at the next port. One study shows that productivity of dock labor in Europe jumped by 17.6 times between pre-container in 1965 and post-container in 1970. Today, a refrigerated box sealed in Ecuador can be exported to Rotterdam, then quickly re-exported to Germany without repacking—illustrating how the container increased market access for firms of any size across the globe.
Containerization was implemented through multiple rulebooks. ISO Technical Committee 104 set the global technical interface, including key standards such as ISO 668 (dimensions and ratings), and ISO 1496 (construction and testing), ISO 1161 (corner fittings), and ISO 6346 (identification). These standards ensure containers and equipment work across ports, cranes, wagons, and chassis globally. The International Convention for Safe Containers embedded safety standards in daily operations, while the International Maritime Organization’s SOLAS, IMDG, ISPS, and CTU codes made packing, stowage, and handling uniform. Customs and trade facilitation scaled with the Harmonized System, the Revised Kyoto Convention, Single Window, and the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. Regulatory reforms (e.g., U.S. Shipping Act changes) enabled flexible, competitive container shipping practices. Lastly, infrastructure and information systems such as cellular ships, inland rail/barge corridors, and port community systems enabled these rules to scale globally.
Today, over 90 percent of non-bulk goods travel in containers, enabling global production networks and efficient manufacturing. Containerization also integrated developing countries into value chains by making trade more reliable and cost-effective. By drastically reducing transport costs and handling times, standardized containers made it economically viable to fragment production across borders. This enabled a new era: developing countries could plug into global value chains with goods, raw or finished, and reach distant markets more reliably and at lower cost, while attracting multinationals seeking cost-effective production locations.
The policy lesson from containerization is straightforward: standardization delivers. When countries work together, trade scales up and the world benefits.
