Editing Containerization (section)

=== Toward standards ===
[[File:Maersk Line containers in late 1960s (7312784586).jpg|thumb|Maersk Line containers in 1975.]]
[[File:Psa keppel.JPG|thumb|right|Keppel Container Terminal in [[Singapore]]]]

During the first 20 years of containerization, many container sizes and corner fittings were used. There were dozens of incompatible container systems in the US alone. Among the biggest operators, the [[Matson Navigation Company]] had a fleet of {{convert|24|ft|m|2|adj=on}} containers, while [[Sea-Land Service, Inc]] used {{convert|35|ft|m|2|adj=on}} containers. The standard sizes and fitting and reinforcement norms that now exist evolved out of a lengthy and complex series of compromises among international shipping companies, European railroads, US railroads, and US trucking companies.  Everyone had to sacrifice something.  For example, to McLean's frustration, Sea-Land's 35-foot container was not adopted as one of the standard container sizes.{{sfn|Levinson|2016|p=188}}  In the end, four important ISO ([[International Organization for Standardization]]) recommendations standardized containerization globally:<ref name="Rushton">Rushton, A., Oxley, J., Croucher, P. (2004). ''The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management''. Kogan Page: London.</ref>

* January 1968: '''[[ISO 668]]''' defined the terminology, dimensions and ratings.
* July 1968: '''R-790''' defined the identification markings.
* January 1970: '''R-1161''' made recommendations about corner fittings.
* October 1970: '''R-1897''' set out the minimum internal dimensions of general purpose freight containers.

Based on these standards, the first [[Twenty-foot equivalent unit|TEU]] container ship was the Japanese ''{{interlanguage link|Hakone Maru|de|Hakone Maru|jp|箱根丸 (コンテナ船)}}'' from shipowner NYK, which started sailing in 1968 and could carry 752 TEU containers.

In the US, containerization and other advances in shipping were impeded by the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] (ICC), which was created in 1887 to keep railroads from using monopolist pricing and rate discrimination, but fell victim to [[regulatory capture]]. By the 1960s, ICC approval was required before any shipper could carry different items in the same vehicle or change rates. The fully integrated systems in the US today became possible only after the ICC's regulatory oversight was cut back (and abolished in 1995). Trucking and rail were deregulated in the 1970s and maritime rates were deregulated in 1984.<ref>{{cite news | last =Postrel | first =Virginia | title =The Box that Changed the World | work =Dynamist.com | date =2006-03-23 | url =http://www.dynamist.com/weblog/archives/002097.html | access-date =2008-02-14 | archive-date =2008-03-09 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080309175320/http://www.dynamist.com/weblog/archives/002097.html | url-status =dead }}</ref>

[[Double-stack rail transport|Double-stacked rail transport]], where containers are stacked two high on railway cars, was introduced in the US. The concept was developed by Sea-Land and the Southern Pacific railroad. The first standalone double-stack container car (or single-unit {{convert|40|ft|m|1|adj=on}} COFC well car) was delivered in July 1977. The five-unit well car, the industry standard, appeared in 1981. Initially, these double-stack railway cars were deployed in regular train service. Ever since American President Lines initiated in 1984 a dedicated double-stack container train service between Los Angeles and Chicago, transport volumes increased rapidly.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bernhardt |first=Karl-Heinz |date=December 1986 |title=Double-stack unit train container service: its commercial impact and value to the military skipper |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA176892.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825143255/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA176892.pdf |archive-date=August 25, 2022 |access-date=August 25, 2022 |website=[[Defense Technical Information Center]] |pages=33–36 |language=en }}</ref>