The intermodal shipping container, a large steel box built in a small number of standard sizes to
allow transportation of goods by ship, truck, train and, rarely, airplane, is a simple technology
whose use has had a profound social and economic impact. That impact was initially felt by
actors in the shipping industry, particular port workers and shipping companies. But, as with
many extremely effective technologies, the container’s impact became much wider – affecting not
only the shipping industry, but local development and the global economy.