ROLL OUT THE BARRELS
From herring to human bodies, everything travelled in wooden barrels for hundreds of years until technology superseded the ancient art of coopering.
Today, shipping containers carry more than 90% of the world’s commodities to their destinations. The steel boxes are equipped with GPS and SIM cards, so the receivers can check the state and location of their goods en route. Fully automatic ships and trucks will soon be carrying cargo, and in Hamburg, Germany, engineers are developing a system that uses drones to move empty containers.