A mind blowing 90% of items that people buy every day arrive in their country of origin by ship. It is safe to say that the shipping industry is big business because the majority of these containers or huge boxes belong to businesses that depend on this mode of transportation to supply products to their consumers all over the world. Here are 6 unique and fascinating facts about the shipping containers and the shipping industry.
Shipping containers are environmentally friendly
If you compare shipping by trucks and aeroplanes, shipping containers by sea are seen as the best way to help preserve the environment. The world is doing everything it can to ensure the environment is not harmed by the gases being produced from vehicles and even factories. If one sends a container from France to China by sea, for example, the whole journey will emit fewer gases compared to shipping it by plane. Although transporting containers by plane is seen as quicker, transporting them through the sea is slightly better for the environment.
Ships that are used to transport shipping containers are very massive
It is widely reported that the biggest ships on the sea can carry or hold up to 14,000 containers in a single trip, which equates to an incredible amount of nearly 750 million bananas.
Ships that carry containers are known to cover oceans
As many as 30 million containers travel across the oceans, and they move everything from cars, clothes to fruits. Despite the massive size of the oceans, a ship can cover plenty of ground with ease, especially if the waves are calm.
The shipping industry is very profitable
The shipping industry is massive, and there are plenty of profits to be made if one knows exactly what they are doing. In a developed country like the UK for example, shipping adds more to the gross domestic product of the country in 2013 than industries such like engineering, hotel and food. Construction is the only industry that contributes more to the UK GDP than shipping.
Shipping containers by sea is cost effective
Shipping items by sea are very affordable as compared to using other methods of transportation. It does take a while for the items to arrive at their intended destination but it is very cost effective. That is especially compared to shipping by aeroplane, which is more expensive shipping method.