Why Covid and Empty Containers Have Sailors Swearing

Sixty-five years ago, a North Carolina trucker named Malcom McLean pioneered the standardized shipping container, launching a global trading system that lifted millions of people out of poverty and created a generation of discount-minded American shoppers. Those boxes are now at the center of a worldwide transport puzzle as a shortage of containers in the right places has disrupted supply chains, idled car factories and sparked a surge in costs that’s pinching companies and consumers. Here’s a l