Fun facts about the shipping industry everyone should know about
As a courier company, we know perfectly well what it takes to ensure the best delivery for our clients. However, we think that sometimes people don't realize just how massive the industry itself is and what important role it plays for all of us not only in Europe, but worldwide.
It's fair to say deliveries have been important to mankind since ancient times. Settlements, cities and countries as a whole have depended on supplies and the same continues to this day. As we said, however, not many realize the scale of the industry as a whole.
Everyone is affected by it and that will not change for the foreseeable future.
In this article we will present a few basic, but fun facts that everyone should learn about the shipping industry.
We've depended on it since ancient times
The shipping industry is without a doubt one of the oldest ones globally. It had its start thousands of years with the first traders traveling either by land or water to get various goods to different cities or ports.
Nowadays, even though it's a far more complicated business, the principle remains the same - thousands of planes, ships, trains and trucks around the globe take care of all of our shipping needs.
Massive demand requires massive means of transportation
To illustrate the size of the industry better, one can simply look at the largest container ship currently in service. The "Ever Ace", controlled by the Taiwanese company Evergreen, spans just around 400 meters in length and has a carrying capacity of around 24000 containers.
Considering that there are around 100 container ships of identical length, it's not difficult to see at what scale the delivery industry really is.
By the way, many shipping companies are considering building even larger ships, so we won't be downsizing any time soon.
It employs many people worldwide
The shipping industry is one of the most important looking from an economic perspective, since it acts as a major employer for people worldwide. According to the Maritime Industry Foundation around 1.2 to 1.5 million people are working in the maritime shipping industry.
Not counting other aspects of delivery, it's not difficult to see just what a massive role the delivery industry plays in terms of employment.
It's not that green (yet)
With environmental consciousness rising globally, the industry is slowly transforming itself to be a more "green" one. This can be seen in aspects like packaging materials, the rise of EVs as means of transportation, better route planning and so on.
However, bigger changes will have to wait. The larger container ships typically burn around 200 tons of fuel per day, which makes ships one of the most polluting entities on the planet.
It's fair to say that this will change in the upcoming future, with different principles implemented for transportation as well.
All in all
Today we've talked about some fun facts you should know about the shipping industry. It is without a doubt, a global one, and with new ideas and practices being implemented constantly it is also sure to change a lot in the upcoming years.
