Developing an idea

• In 1956, Malcom McLean secured a bank loan for $22 million. He bought two WWII tanker ships and converted them to carry his containers. Later that year, one of his ships was loaded with 58 containers and sailed from New Jersey to Houston.
• Mclean could offer transport prices that were 25% lower than his competitor. He could also lock the containers to prevent cargo theft.

As the advantage of MacLean's container system became apparent, bigger ships, more sophisticated containers, and larger cranes to load cargo were developed.