2026-09-26
The product history of the shipping container, and why it ranks 10th
On 26 April 1956 the Ideal X carried 58 boxes from Newark to Houston. Loading by hand cost $5.86 a ton; loading boxes cost 16 cents. But Malcom McLean did not invent the box. What he got right was something else: he gave away the patents on the corner fitting and the twistlock so his competitors could use the same box he did. It ranks 10th at 93.65, impact 99 and originality 98, with experience at only 80. This is the product history in order, and what the score is measuring.
