Summary
Globalization and the continued international cooperation among economies facilitate the exchange of goods and services and the movement from one point to another. The exchange of goods and services calls for the movement of goods from the point of production, and along the distribution channels to final consumers. The continued international cooperation and exchange of commodities necessitate the development of containers and other facilities that ease the international movement of goods of different sizes to various destinations.
Containerization systemizes the intermodal freight transport using standard containers that allow different means of transport as dictated by the geographical differences and the available means. Ideologically, containerized shipping seeks to ease the logistics in the transfer of goods, especially through more than one way from a location to another. The design and development of the containers aim at integrating the transportation process by incorporating the aspects of strength and space for safety and flexibility.
In other words, the standard container size accommodates several products in transit, and they are strong enough for the safety of fragile products. In addition, the design incorporates the diversity of the goods on transit in a manner that the packaging and movements of a variety of goods in a single container go uninterrupted, despite the distance covered and the means of transport. Long ago, people used different methods of packaging, such as barrels, sacks, and wooden crates, which proved inefficient for intermodal freight means of transport. However, with improvements in relation to various technologies, better methods are being used to support effective strategies of handling and transporting goods in transit.
Problem Statement
Containerized shipping has had great impacts on world economies, especially in relation to trade and commerce, and bridged the disparity between international demand and supply. Internationally, the volume of trade goods increased tremendously with a focus on the integration of intermodal freight methods of transport and innovations that support container designs and logistics. Two questions will be answered in this paper. First, do the current container designs support the incorporation of transport and logistics dilemma? Second, how consistent are container designs to accommodate the insurgence of diverse transport needs?
Significance of the Problem
Historically, the movement of goods relied on the available methods and operations that were tedious and risky to products in transit. Break-bulk shipping existed for so long, but the loading and offloading of ships and other ways of transport were labor-intensive, time-consuming, and product-selective. The interoperability of the available structures failed to guarantee the safety of products on transit and the safety of dockworkers, whereby a ship, for example, could spend more time at a port than at the sea. The introduction of standard containers eased packaging, loading, and offloading of cargo.
Thus, they went a long way in minimizing transit time and improving efficiency. Crainic and Kim (2006) observe that basic systems make transport and logistics easier, with the standard containers easing the transfer of cargo from ships to trains, and vice-versa. The efficient and timely loading and offloading of cargo at a port lead to quick movement of goods to various destinations, improving the availability of goods in local and international markets (Hoovestal, 2013). The continuous supply of goods to these markets helps to expand economic activities and provide a variety of products for diverse consumer needs.
Knox and Marston (2007) observe the modern transport structures and complementary facilities are the main drivers of globalization and the strategies to attain relatively high levels of regional and global growth trends.
Containerization supports double-stack rail transport, whereby a train can carry double the size of a container and twice the number of containers than before. In such a case, a loaded vehicle needs a simple design to lower the center of gravity that reduces the needed vertical clearance. Kumar and Verruso (2008) argue that the modern container designs provide improved cargo security through cradling of the lower containers, ruling out the possibility of cargo interference and damage while on transit.
Development of Alternative Actions
Modern containers facilitate smooth and efficient movements of cargo via the available intermodal ways, but the increasing demand for more efficient structures to accommodate air transport and the integration of other means calls for innovations. Creative thinking and decision planning need to focus on approaches to improve air travel and develop efficient structures that are consistent and flexible to accommodate ever-changing transport needs. Ward and Ostbo (2010) argue that the future of cargo transport rests upon the versatility of firms and the adaptability to modern science and innovations. In addition, they posit that to capture and acquire the existing operations for the future of integrated intermodal approaches, firms need to focus on enfranchising.
Recommendations
To achieve maximum benefits of the concept of containerization, economies, companies, and all stakeholders should cultivate inter-modalism, whereby efficiency relies on the consistency of security and safety of cargo on transit across destinations. In addition, designers should incorporate science and technology to come up with cost-effective, eco-friendly, and secure containers to increase volumes of cargo and promote industrial globalization.
References
Crainic, T. G., & Kim, K. H. (2006). Intermodal transportation. Transportation,14(10), 467-537.
Hoovestal, L. E. (2013). Globalization Contained: The Economic and Strategic Consequences of the Container. London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.
Knox, P. L., & Marston, S. A. (2007). Places and regions in global context: human geography. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Kumar, S., & Verruso, J. (2008). Risk assessment for the security of inbound containers at US ports: a failure, mode, effects, and criticality analysis approach. Transportation journal, 7(23), 26-41.
Ward, T., & Ostbo, B. I. (Eds.). (2010). Ports 2010: Building on the Past, Respecting the Future. Reston, VA: ASCE Publications.