The Container

The Register has an interesting little article on the container marking the passing of Kent Tantlinger, the man who developed the twistlock, the device that allowed containers to be stacked and locked together. A very, very important piece of technology. It was this little bit of technology that really allowed use of the container to expand and change the way the commercial world worked. It is, essentially, what allowed the transfer of manufacturing from the UK to China and other developing nations. It reduced the cost of shipping both raw materials and finished goods to such a point that physical distance became irrelevant.

For those that might be interested in reading further:-

The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger

and

Box Boats: How Container Ships Changed the World

I haven’t read these myself, but have added them to Mount Toberead.