WEBVTT

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This is what a port looks like before containerization.

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This is Sunda Kelapa in Jakarta.

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Even today, many ports don��t have the facilities

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to accommodate large container vessels

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or the dockside equipment to unload boxes at speed.

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This is how a modern port looks today.

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Metal containers have transformed the loading process

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Boxes are moved on and off ships

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by special cranes in a matter of minutes.

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From the port side, they are transferred to rail or truck.

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Container ships are getting bigger and bigger.

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Today, the largest transport

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not 58 metal boxes, but up to 18000.

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Some ships are 400 meters long and 59 meters wide.

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When we think about globalization 

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we think about world trade as it exists today.

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With the ability to source products from all over the world,

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the ability to manufacture and produce in locations,

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without transport costs being a huge obstacle.

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I mean that is the miracle

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that containerization has brought about ��

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the ability to move things around

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without having to really worry about the cost.

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Without containers, China wouldn��t be the factory of the world.

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Containers don��t only transport finished goods.

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These days, supply chains are ever more complex.

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Components can be shipped from multiple countries,

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assembled in China or elsewhere,

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and sold in Europe or America.

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There have been major battles of the size of containers.

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At first there were dozens of incompatible sizes.

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Gradually the industry has agreed standards.

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These days most big boxes are 20 or 40 feet long.

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Something like 90% of all non-bulk

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cargo is transported on container ships.

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All together container
boxes make some 200 million journeys a year.