Malcom McLean and Containerisation | Maersk

60 years ago one man with a bright idea changed the course of world trade and laid the foundations for what was to become the biggest liner business in the world.

26 April 1956 marks the beginning of what has been described as the ‘container revolution’: 58 boxes were loaded onboard the converted tanker Ideal-X and sailed from Newark, New Jersey to Houston, Texas – the American businessman Malcom McLean who later founded Sea-Land Services, had invented the modern intermodal shipping container.

At the time, cargo was usually loaded and unloaded by hand, costing 5.86 USD a ton compared to 16 cents a ton using Ideal-X; the value of ‘economies of scale’ was introduced.

The journey to Houston reflects how a simple idea – packing commodities into a 35 foot, six-sided box and moving that box between different modes of transport – eventually revolutionised world trade and laid the foundation for the world’s biggest container business, Maersk Line.

In the decades to come, it quickly took up pace – and 60 years later, more than 6,000 container ships, large and small, support trade for local and global customers.



This video is presented by Maersk and gives you an insight into the world’s largest container shipping company. Our videos about Maersk show how much influence Maersk has as a shipping company, and how they operate in the world.

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