The genius of the container is that the entire workflow around transporting physical goods is standardized on the same 8×8×40 box. Manufacturers load goods onto eight-foot-wide palettes straight into the box. The box becomes a freight car when loaded onto railroad wheels, and once it arrives at a ship, it is directly hefted aboard via those immense cranes that dot every modern port. Piled like Legos on the ship, the boxes arrive at another port and are loaded onto a truck frame, and are driven to their destinations. It’s universal: whether the ship docks in Singapore or Oakland, its cargo will
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