Startup creates foldable shipping containers that can revolutionize logistics

If you’ve ever passed by a port, you’ve certainly seen a vast “container parking lot” with hundreds of these metallic boxes taking up space. Many of them were probably empty, waiting to be used or returned to their source location. Most likely, some were even worn down by rust. This type of congestion, considered one of the main efficiency bottlenecks in the global transportation of goods, can be solved by a technological innovation created by an American startup: Staxxon invented foldable containers that can shrink in size when not used.

These innovative containers are as durable and have the same capacity as regular ones. However, when compressed, they shrink 20% of their standard size. In other words, in the space of just one standard container, it would be possible to allocate (or transport) five units.

According to Business Insider, prototype manufacturing is expected to begin in less than a year, but the company is already open for pre-orders, requiring a deposit of $100 per container. Currently, the size of containers is standardized by the International Maritime Organization. Its shape has been pretty much the same since 1956 when these large metal cases were patented. Since then, there have been virtually no significant changes to its design.

However, analysts assess that the current model no longer meets the demands of a global market that has only grown in recent decades.

The recent logistics crises caused by the covid-19 pandemic have further demonstrated the system’s fragility, with ports, warehouses, and rail systems occupied by hundreds or thousands of “parked” containers awaiting destination.

Last year, a report by Business Insider estimated that in Southern California alone, more than 110,000 empty containers were sitting idle, taking up space and causing visual pollution.

Shao Hung Goh, a logistics and supply-chain expert at Singapore’s University of Social Sciences, estimates that land transportation companies can save up to 57% of their expenses by using the new foldable containers. Other companies have also patented their versions – but until now, the most efficient ones, like Delft’s, were able to be reduced to just 25% of their original size.

Source: UOL

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https://www.uol.com.br/tilt/noticias/redacao/2022/05/29/startup-cria-container-sanfona-que-pode-revolucionar-a-logistica-mundial.htm

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