Is the container the most important invention of the last 100 years?

IN 1956 the SS Ideal X sailed from New Jersey to Houston with 58 containers on board, marking the birth of modern commercial container shipping. Malcom McClean’s vision of unitized, efficient and relatively cheap global freight has evolved into a global network, criss-crossing the world’s oceans to connect businesses with consumers across continents. Has there been a more important innovation in global trade? What would Malcom McClean say if he walked into a modern container terminal? And is the everyday consumer aware of just how much their lives have been changed by the development of the shipping container? Joining Joshua on the Lloyd’s List podcast are: Joe Kramek, chief executive, World Shipping Council Henning Morgen, group historian, Maersk