All three carriers reported stunning efficiencies. Three medium-size containerships could handle as much transatlantic freight as six breakbulk ships, with only half the capital cost and two-thirds of the operating cost, a consultant reported. United States Lines found that at Port Elizabeth, one longshore gang with one crane could load as much in a ten-hour container operation as ten gangs handling conventional breakbulk freight. Moore-McCormack pegged the cost of loading containerized cargo at Port Elizabeth as $2.00 to $2.50 per ton, versus $16.00 per ton for conventional freight.29
