All About Containers: Who invented the Shipping Container?

This short Ted Talk video tells the story of how a truck driver named Malcolm McLean got tired of all the waiting and wasted time involved in the old method of shipping cargo. Rather than just being frustrated, he decided to do something about it.

“Never underestimate a small-town trucker.”

It took several years, but over time the young truck driver’s invention of a standardized steel cargo container for shipping was honed and eventually caught on. His first shipment set sail with 58 Boxes and has since sailed into history.

When you see think about how the Shipping Container has changed the way almost everything is manufactured and bought and sold worldwide, it’s no wonder they call it “the Box that changed the world.” …but really, it was a man who valued the one thing we can’t make and all wish we had more of – TIME.

Take a lesson from the man who invented the shipping container: the next time you find yourself frustrated about wasted time, direct your frustration into brainstorming a way to improve the situation. You just might change the world!