From Materials to Blockchain – Innovation Disrupts the Shipping Container Industry

Climate change, shippers’ demand for lower costs, repurposing, and developments in technology – those are driving innovation in shipping containers. Our industry is circling back to the inventive spirit of Malcolm McLean. Back in the 1950s, he revolutionized the transportation of goods. That was first by creating the shipping container. Next he introduced standardization.

Climate Change

The bad news comes from the International Council of Clean Transportation: Maritime shipping releases annually 1,056 tons of CO2 emissions from the fuel. The good news is that it’s already being addressed by innovations reducing the weight of shipping containers. Less fuel is needed.

For example, by using new materials and technologies, the Highq composite container, developed by DSM and Samkip, cut out 20 percent of the weight. Visionaries also see the possibility of replacing steel with carbon fiber. Materials are a pressure point in the need to lighten the weight of cargo. Probably more startups will take this on.

Shippers’ Costs

During 2020, maritime shipping costs tripled, documents the U.S. International Trade Commission. The demand for cost efficiencies is urgent.

One solution is foldability. Through that innovation, up to four empty containers can be folded and transported as one unit. With so many containers traveling empty, this gets control over a major part of that non-revenue-producing expense.

Another solution is what’s called the “Smart Container.” The opposite of the dumb container or the one with no computers, smart containers contain interconnected digital sensors. Those retrieve, interpret and transmit data about location, if container is packed or empty, temperature, humidity, vibrations, and shock.

All that can be used in real time by shippers as early-warning for the kind of trouble which is expensive. For example, the vessel itself might have gone off-course. Bandits might have seized the ship. On the profit side, the empty containers can be unloaded at the next port and sold at a premium.

Repurposing

A shipping container is no longer just a shipping container. Increasingly, both new and used, they are being reconfigured for other uses. That involves inventive thinking ranging from design to how to bypass permit hassle.

One application which might surprise is that builders are using the shipping container as the proof of concept before doing the actual construction.

Others, currently commonplace, include:

• Pop-up retailing
• Garden Sheds
• Garages
• Home Offices
• Studios
• Pools
• Hotels
• Space for special events such as concerts and trade shows.

Also, what those in the business have come up with are ways to classify these applications so that there’s no need to go through zoning hell. Among them is having the shipping container designated as a temporary structure. An example would be that the shipping container will function as an above-ground pool versus an in-ground one.

Another source of innovation is in the stylistics. As with the fashion industry, there are always those focused on the appearance. For used shipping containers cosmetic procedures with wood and paint are being developed and introduced.

Technology Developments

Admittedly, there’s been a lag in the adoption of advanced technologies in logistics, compared to finance, social media, and even law. But now the conversations in the business of maritime shipping include references to, yes, blockchain.

Essentially the blockchain is a decentralized peer-to-peer network. As applied to shipping, its major benefit is providing security and traceability. That is, once data has been put into the blockchain database, it can’t be changed. Or removed. That is, not without the permission of those in the loop.

The validation system provided by the blockchain can prevent fraud involved in the contents of the containers. That increases trust – a major benefit of the blockchain – in the business of the shipping container.

In addition, the movement of containers can involve up to 30 official checkpoints in an international shipment. The documentation provided by the blockchain can streamline the opening of containers and sharing of documents.

The potential of the blockchain can be the game-changer in shipping containers.

Uncertainty

COVID triggered a massive rethinking of how business is done. At the top of the list has been the need to focus on the vulnerability of global supply chains. Manufacturing could pull back from outsourcing in low-cost locations and return to domestic production. That, of course, will impact maritime shipping. It is through innovation that the container industry can partner with shipping to navigate that transition. In that its track record is proving to be excellent.