The Box or BBC Box ( BIC code: NYKU8210506) was a single ISO

intermodal container An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, or a freight container, (or simply "container") is a large metal crate designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different Mode ...

which was tracked by

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

between September 2008 and April 2009, as part of a project to study

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countries, such trade represents a significan ...

and

globalisation Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

. The Box was fitted with tracking equipment, and painted in a special one-off BBC

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol, or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery often includes elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

. The Box was named after the book '' The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger'', which covers the effects of

containerisation Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers, or ISO containers). Containerization, also referred as container stuffing or container loading, is the process of uni ...

. The project was assisted by the Container Shipping Information Service. The tracking project was launched on 8 September 2008. The BBC project tracked a standard shipping container as it was transported by its owner,

Nippon Yusen Kaisha The , also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese shipping company. The company headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It operates a fleet of over 820 ships, which includes container ships, tankers, bulk and woodchip carriers, roll-on/ro ...

(NYK) shipping line using

intermodal freight transport Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation (e.g., rail, ship, aircraft, and truck), without any handling of the freight itself when changing ...

with various cargoes. An on-board GPS unit tracked the Box's location, and this was used to update a map showing the current location and its previous route. If the container's GPS or communications signal was obstructed (such as having been stacked too far inside the ship's hold), the ship's own GPS location was used to manually update a map. The tracking unit suffered technical problems during December 2008. Following the end of the project in 2009, the shipping container was donated by its owner,

(NYK) to a charity to be turned into a

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center is a place where food is offered to Hunger, hungry and homeless people, usually for no price, cost, or sometimes at a below-market price (such as coin Donation, donations). Frequently located in Low i ...

Cargoes

The Box arrived empty, already in its BBC branding. It travelled to its first destination to take on its first cargo; a consignment of whisky from a

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

-based bottling plant to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China. On arrival in Shanghai, the Box was met and reported on by British school pupils on a trip to China. ;(Empty) :from Southampton Maritime, England, to a dry port at

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

, Scotland (by rail, behind Freightliner 66594 ''NYK Spirit of

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

'') :to Paisley, Scotland (by road) ; Chivas Regal Scotch Whisky :from Paisley via

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

, Scotland (by road) :via

Port of Belfast Belfast Harbour is a major maritime hub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, handling 67% of Northern Ireland's seaborne trade and about 25% of the maritime trade of the entire island of Ireland. It is a vital gateway for raw materials, exports and c ...

, Northern Ireland, to

Port of Southampton The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. After the Port of Felixstowe, ...

(on board ) :via

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

and

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

; reloaded at

Port of Singapore The Port of Singapore is the collection of facilities and container terminal, terminals that conduct maritime trade and handle Singapore's harbours and shipping. It has been ranked as the top maritime capital of the world, since 2015. Currently ...

, to Port of Shanghai, China (on board ) ;

Tape measure A tape measure or measuring tape is a long, flexible ruler used to measure length or distance. It usually consists of a ribbon of cloth, plastic, fibreglass, or metal (usually - hard steel alloy) strip with linear measurement markings. Types Ta ...

s, cosmetics, and gardening products for Big Lots :from Port of Shanghai via Japan and Pacific Ocean, to

Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "Amer ...

, United States (on board ); :via

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

(by rail) :to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

(by road) ; Ink, spearmint flavouring, additives, and polyester fibre :from New York, (on board , IMO9106807, formerly ''Eagle I'') :to Santos, Brazil (by sea) ;

Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is a sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer with a ...

and

auto part This is a list of auto parts, which are manufactured components of automobiles. This list reflects both fossil-fueled cars (using internal combustion engines) and electric vehicles; the list is not exhaustive. Many of these parts are also used o ...

s :from Santos via

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

and Singapore (on board , IMO9178288, call sign: A8HJ6) :reloaded at

Port of Hong Kong The Port of Hong Kong located by the South China Sea, is a deepwater seaport dominated by trade in containerisation, containerised manufactured products, and to a lesser extent raw materials and passengers. A key factor in the economic devel ...

Port of Yokohama The is operated by the Port and Harbor Bureau of the City of Yokohama in Japan. It opens onto Tokyo Bay. The port is located at a latitude of 35.27–00°N and a longitude of 139.38–46°E. To the south lies the Port of Yokosuka; to the nort ...

, Japan (on board , IMO9355408, call sign: 9VFW9) ;Various (consolidated cargo) :from Yokohama 15 August 2009 (on board , IMO9117129, call sign: HSAG2) :to

Laem Chabang Laem Chabang (, ) is a port city municipality (''thesaban nakhon'') in Si Racha and Bang Lamung districts of Chonburi Province, Thailand. It includes Thung Sukhla subdistrict (''tambon'') and parts of subdistricts Bueng, Nong Kham and Surasak o ...

, Thailand (expected: 23 August 2009) ;Tinned catfood :from Lat Krabang, Bangkok, Thailand on 25 September 2009, due to arrive at Southampton, United Kingdom on 21 October 2009. Later arrived in Southampton on 22 October at around 3am, unloaded with crane L, being driven by Lee Harfield, the same driver who had loaded it when it left Southampton. GPS tracking stopped on 4 April 2009, shortly after passing

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Similar projects

*A 2007 book, ''Around the World in 40 Feet; Two Hundred Days in the Life of a 40FT NYK Shipping Container'', written by Richard Cook and Marcus Oleniuk, detailed the journey of another NYK container. *''

Logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

'', a 2012

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that does not apply standard cinematic conventions, instead adopting Non-narrative film, non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many e ...

, follows the production and shipping associated with a

pedometer A pedometer, or step-counter, is a device, usually portable and electronic or electromechanical, that counts each step a person takes by detecting the motion of the person's hands or hips. Because the distance of each person's step varies, an ...

over the course of 35 days; ''Logistics'' is considered to be the longest film ever produced.

References

External links

BBC News home page for The Box projectLive updating map of the Box's positionImage of The Box
{{Authority control BBC Intermodal containers 2008 in transport 2009 in transport