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Locked In
Standardizing the shipping container in the mid-1960s was a pivotal step in globalization. Up until that point, containers came in a multitude of designs, so one ship line’s containers might…
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“Normal” Isn’t Coming Back
“Supply chain ‘normal’ appears on the horizon,” Bloomberg’s Brendan Murray reports. Murray presents lots of evidence that fewer vessels are queuing at container ports, fewer sailings are being cancelled, and…
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The Queen Went Shopping
The death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth on September 8 triggered a slew of reminiscences about her many visits to the United States. On seven trips, first as princess and then…
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Rise and Fall
What do Baltimore, Keelung, Jeddah, Belfast, and Melbourne have in common? Yes, of course, all are ocean ports. But only the most obsessive maritime historians are likely to note their…
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Too Much Stuff
The U.S. distribution system is stuffed with stuff. Business inventories in April were up nearly 18% from a year ago. Inventories at non-auto retailers were up 20%. One merchant after…
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Trade Secrets
A couple of years ago, an exec at a major freight forwarder asked me to guess how many shipments each employee handled on an average day. Naively, I guessed 60…