5/19/2003: Shipping container back-up

[Undertoad]

Another MSNBC image, this time showing you Kamman Pier in Busan, South Korea. At the time of this image there had been a truckers strike for five days.

This shot says a lot about the world and not so much about the strike. I don't know about you, but when I looked at it my first thought was that these containers were full. But they're probably empty. If it's the truckers who aren't on the job, the empty containers would be the ones to sit idle at the port.

How the standard shipping container dominates this world we know so little about. Imagine a port without standard shipping containers, and how much work it would take to get all the goods to their rightful owners. Imagine the amount of labor just to load and unload the ship. Instead, these massive standard containers go from ship to rail to truck throughout the entire planet, all moved with standard cranes and locked in place with standard locks.

Next, imagine the amount of STUFF that could fit into all those shipping containers. This virtual river of goods is South Korea's economy. So if you could imagine how hard it would be to move all that stuff without the standardized shipping container, you see how just standardizing on that container creates massive amounts of wealth. Just being able to move it all efficiently decreases the cost of everything in every container.

And the shot itself is a wonder of colors.