For anyone interested in this topic (which should be most of the people on this sub), The Box is a fascinating history of the cargo container, and really shows how and why our global economy has been shaped with the shipping we have. The TL;DR is bulk commodities transfer in the homogeneous "shipping container" makes it possible to grow the supply chain economies of scale.
Some 80% of products shipped in cargo containers are "intermediate" products, going from one manufacturing facility to another. Only 20% are finished retail goods heading to shelves!
https://smile.amazon.com/Box-Shipping-Container-Smaller-Economy/dp/0691170819
Here's a link to the 2nd edition which is $17 cheaper for some reason
The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger - Second Edition with a new chapter by the author https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691170819/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_B6KYD8CQQYKRG9ACE97G
For anyone interested in the topic - i can’t recommend this book enough the box
Containere. Le muta de pe un vapor pe altu si le da druma sa plece zici ca-i router. Daca gasesti citeste https://www.amazon.com/Box-Shipping-Container-Smaller-Economy/dp/0691170819 e fascinant...
The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger - Second Edition with a new chapter by the author https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691170819/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_166YJ9ACYA9TYEH746YV
I can also recommend this book