to carry containers were used between UK and Netherlands and also in Denmark in 1951. In the United States, ships began carrying containers in 1951, between Seattle, Washington, and Alaska. None of these services was particularly successful. First, the containers were rather small, with 52% of them having a volume of less than 3 m3. Almost all European containers were made of wood and used canvas lids, and they required additional equipment for loading into rail or truck bodies.

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