“Containerization (or containerisation) is a system of intermodal freight transport using standard ISO containers (known as shipping containers, ITUs (Intermodal Transport Units or isotainers) that can be loaded and sealed intact onto container ships, railroad cars, planes, and trucks.” The introduction of containers had a great impact on efficiency and transporting goods from A to B. Almost every good that is consumed in today’s world has spent some time in a container.  The innovation of global standardized containerization was one of the most important innovations of the 20th century logistics. In 1951 the first vessel purpose-built to carry containers began in Demark. This changed shipping forever. Its first trip carried 600 containers between North Vancouver, British Columbia and Skagway, Alaska, on November 26, 1955. Container ships were originally introduced by McLean in the USA. His innovation made it possible to be more efficient with the cargo space of a container ship. His innovation as the great idea of using large containers that would never be opened during transit between shipper and consignee, and that the containers were transferable on an intermodal basis, among trucks, ships and railroad cars. Containerization has revolutionized today’s cargo shipping. Now approximately 90% of all cargo is moved by containers on container or cargo ships. Today approximately 26% of the world’s cargo is moved from China. There are ships than can carry over fifteen thousand containers. The only thing can put a limit on how big a ship can be built is the depth of the Straits of Malacca. The Straits of Malacca are one of the world's busiest shipping lanes which link the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. This is called Malaccamax, which gives the constraints of a ship to be no bigger than 470 meters in length by 60 meters in width. That is 1542 feet by 197 feet.  There are some issues to consider when examining containerization. The increased efficiency has made an impact on job loss. Containerization has also increased fuel consumption. However the efficiency of using containers offset the increase of fuel cost. Another issue to consider is the hazards that some people use containers for smuggling drugs, contraband, and weapons. There is also a risk of losing your container at sea. Approximately 10,000 containers are lost at sea each year, and that number is only expected to rise with the increasing popularity of containerization. REFERENCE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Containerizationhttp://www.seattlepi.com/business/259042_containerships10.htmlhttp://www.containerization.org/