New York’s docks were handling half as much domestic cargo in the early 1950s as they had been in the depressed 1930s.
In thirty years, no one had invested significant money in coastal shipping.
In 1937, a trucker got frustrated waiting for his cargo to be unloaded. He later sold his company for $1.1 billion.
Here’s the story of how Malcom McLean made a billion dollars and which startup could be following in his footsteps. (Inspired by our episode with @laurabehrenswu)
New York’s docks were handling half as much domestic cargo in the early 1950s as they had been in the depressed 1930s.
In thirty years, no one had invested significant money in coastal shipping.
As McLean found out, loading ships was difficult and slow.
A truck or train would deliver items to the port. Each item was unloaded separately, recorded, and carried to storage.
When a ship was ready, each item was taken from storage, counted again, and hauled on-board.
“A four-thousand-mile voyage for a shipment might consume 50 percent of its costs in covering just the two ten-mile movements through two ports.”
Foreigners were barred from operating domestically. Cartels ran international routes. And gov. subsidies eased the pain of labor costs.
Reshaping the industry needed an outsider.
Enter Malcolm McLean.
But he worried that domestic shipping lines would undercut his business. Highway traffic was getting worse and shipping costs were falling as the government gave away war-surplus ships for next to nothing.
Why not bypass traffic by driving truck trailers onto ships?
Ships would then move trailers between North Carolina, New York City, and Rhode Island, circumventing traffic jams at a time when expressways were few and far between.
The wheels beneath each trailer would waste precious space. Pondering that problem, McLean came up with a more radical idea.
Leave the wheels and chassis, load the container. That would reduce the space each trailer needed by one-third.
The Interstate Commission said no. He couldn't own both a shipping and trucking company.
McLean chose shipping.
In 1955, he made $6 million ($60m today) on the sale of McLean Trucking.
On April 26, 1956, 100 dignitaries watched a purpose-built crane place a container on the Ideal-X every seven minutes. The ship was loaded in less than eight hours and set sail the same day.
Loading loose cargo on a medium-size cargo ship cost $5.83 per ton in 1956. McLean’s experts pegged the cost of loading the Ideal-X at $0.15 per ton.
With numbers like that, the container had a future.
McLean wasn’t the first to suggest containerization. But he was the first to understand that the future of shipping required not just a metal box but an entirely new way of handling freight.
Today, the US shipping industry alone is worth $700bn.
Laura Behrens Wu, this week’s FFG guest, is doing the same. She’s making shipping easier in the internet age.
McLean 2.0? Listen to find out:
https://t.co/vP8POjAEfb
If you’re struggling for business ideas, what problem do you face that you’re sure other people struggle with too?
Start there. Solve that problem. As Laura shows, you may find it’s a huge market.
It pairs well with @patrick_oshag and @LauraBehrensWu's conversation about Shippo and how to build a digital business in the physical world of shipping.
https://t.co/zCZWTiFOsj
More from History
This is THEFT!
Indians had Algebra BEFORE Mμslim prophet & religion was even born.
Here is Bakhshali Manuscript dating back to 3rd century CE. It is an Algebraic treatise. Have you anything like this from the Arabian desert? No, you simply plagiarized Algebra from Indians! https://t.co/cWXRNYMgDt
The Bakhshali manuscript, which has been carbon dated to 3rd century CE, is an ancient Hindu treatise on Arithmetic and Algebra.
The Algebraic problems deal with simultaneous equations, quadratic equations, arithmetic
geometric progressions & quadratic indeterminate equations.
Bakhshali isn't earliest Indian Algebraic treatise. Early Algebra is found in Shulba Sutras dating back to at least 800 BC. Traditional Algebra reached its pinnacle in the works of Aryabhata & Bhaskara.
What makes Bakhshali special is it offers mathematical proof to its theories
It is surprising to see that even after the ancient Indian algebraic treatise has been carbon dated to 3rd century CE by Oxford, they persist with "oh we invented Algebra. It is Halal".
A brief examination of the origins of "Halal Algebra" follows
https://t.co/eFIZ98FDrI
The earliest work of "Arabic Algebra" is the "Al-Kitāb Al-Jabr wal-muqābala" by Al Khwarizmi. The term "Algebra" comes from this book ("Al Jabr").
Before writing his treatise, Al Khwarizmi visited India. His book is a plagiarism from Indian Mathematics and an obvious one at that
Indians had Algebra BEFORE Mμslim prophet & religion was even born.
Here is Bakhshali Manuscript dating back to 3rd century CE. It is an Algebraic treatise. Have you anything like this from the Arabian desert? No, you simply plagiarized Algebra from Indians! https://t.co/cWXRNYMgDt
Muslims gave the world Algebra, so here's a "halal" way to say Merry Christmas to our Christian friends :)#MerryChristmas2020 pic.twitter.com/aLXEw2K2I1
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) December 25, 2020
The Bakhshali manuscript, which has been carbon dated to 3rd century CE, is an ancient Hindu treatise on Arithmetic and Algebra.
The Algebraic problems deal with simultaneous equations, quadratic equations, arithmetic
geometric progressions & quadratic indeterminate equations.
Bakhshali isn't earliest Indian Algebraic treatise. Early Algebra is found in Shulba Sutras dating back to at least 800 BC. Traditional Algebra reached its pinnacle in the works of Aryabhata & Bhaskara.
What makes Bakhshali special is it offers mathematical proof to its theories
It is surprising to see that even after the ancient Indian algebraic treatise has been carbon dated to 3rd century CE by Oxford, they persist with "oh we invented Algebra. It is Halal".
A brief examination of the origins of "Halal Algebra" follows
https://t.co/eFIZ98FDrI
The earliest work of "Arabic Algebra" is the "Al-Kitāb Al-Jabr wal-muqābala" by Al Khwarizmi. The term "Algebra" comes from this book ("Al Jabr").
Before writing his treatise, Al Khwarizmi visited India. His book is a plagiarism from Indian Mathematics and an obvious one at that
Thank you so much to the incredible @gregjenner and his team for having me on "You're Dead to Me" and to @kaekurd for being so hilarious and bringing Gilgamesh the restaurant into my life!
Here’s a thread of some of the stuff referenced in the podcast for those interested
First of all, what even is cuneiform?
It’s a writing system from the ancient Middle East, used to write several languages like Sumerian and Akkadian. Cuneiform signs can stand for whole words or syllables. Here’s a little primer of its evolution https://t.co/7CVjLCHwkS
What kinds of texts was cuneiform used to write?
Initially, accounting records and lists.
Eventually, literature, astronomy, medicine, maps, architectural plans, omens, letters, contracts, law collections, and more.
Texts from the Library of Ashurbanipal, who ruled the ancient Assyrian empire when it was at its largest in the 7th century BCE, represent many of the genres of cuneiform texts and scholarship.
Here’s a short intro to the library via @opencuneiform https://t.co/wjnaxpMRrC
The Library of Ashurbanipal has a complicated modern and ancient history, which you can read about in this brilliant (and open access) book by Prof @Eleanor_Robson
Here’s a thread of some of the stuff referenced in the podcast for those interested
First of all, what even is cuneiform?
It’s a writing system from the ancient Middle East, used to write several languages like Sumerian and Akkadian. Cuneiform signs can stand for whole words or syllables. Here’s a little primer of its evolution https://t.co/7CVjLCHwkS
What kinds of texts was cuneiform used to write?
Initially, accounting records and lists.
Eventually, literature, astronomy, medicine, maps, architectural plans, omens, letters, contracts, law collections, and more.
Texts from the Library of Ashurbanipal, who ruled the ancient Assyrian empire when it was at its largest in the 7th century BCE, represent many of the genres of cuneiform texts and scholarship.
Here’s a short intro to the library via @opencuneiform https://t.co/wjnaxpMRrC
The Library of Ashurbanipal has a complicated modern and ancient history, which you can read about in this brilliant (and open access) book by Prof @Eleanor_Robson
