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

intermodal container An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different modes of transport – from ship ...

that 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 significant ...

and globalisation. The Box was fitted with tracking equipment and painted in a special one-off livery. The tracking project was launched on 8 September 2008. The project tracked a standard shipping container as it was transported by its owner, Nippon Yusen Kaisha (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 The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

unit tracked the Box's location and this was used to update a map showing the current location and previous route. If the container's GPS or communications signal was obstructed (such as having been stacked too far inside the ship's

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Ferm ...

), the ship's own GPS location was used to manually update a map. The tracking unit suffered technical problems during December 2008. The Box was painted in a special BBC paint scheme and 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 and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the p ...

. The project was assisted by the Container Shipping Information Service. Following the end of the project in 2009, the shipping container was donated by its owner, Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) to a charity to be turned into a soup kitchen.

Cargoes

The box started off empty, travelling to its first destination under the BBC branding. The first cargo was a consignment of whisky from a

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

-based bottling plant to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, 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 A dry port (sometimes referred to as an inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport, operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. In addition to their role in ...

Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) 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, Coatbrid ...

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

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

'') : to Paisley, Scotland (by road) ; Chivas Regal Scotch Whisky: from Paisley via Greenock, 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. The port has been owned and op ...

(on board ) : via Suez Canal and Gulf of Aden; reloaded at Port of Singapore, to Port of Shanghai, China (on board ) ;

Tape measure A tape measure or measuring tape is a flexible ruler used to measure length or distance. It consists of a ribbon of cloth, plastic, fibre glass, or metal strip with linear measurement markings. It is a common measuring tool. Its design all ...

s, cosmetics, and gardening products for

Big Lots Big Lots Stores, Inc. (stylized as Big Lots!) is an American retail company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio with over 1,400 stores in 47 states. History The Big Lots chain traces its history back to 1967 when Consolidated Stores Corporation ...

: from Port of Shanghai via Japan and Pacific Ocean to Port of Los Angeles, United States (on board ); : via

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

(by rail) : to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

(by road) ; Ink, spearmint flavouring,

additives Additive may refer to: Mathematics * Additive function, a function in number theory * Additive map, a function that preserves the addition operation * Additive set-functionn see Sigma additivity * Additive category, a preadditive category with fi ...

, 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 the 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 wi ...

and

auto part This is a list of auto parts, mostly for vehicles using internal combustion engines which are manufactured components of automobiles: Car body and main parts Body components, including trim Doors Windows Low voltage/auxiliary ele ...

s: from Santos via Cape of Good Hope and Singapore (on board , IMO9178288, Callsign 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 containerised manufactured products, and to a lesser extent raw materials and passengers. A key factor in the economic development of Hong ...

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 north ...

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

Laem Chabang Laem Chabang ( th, แหลมฉบัง, ) 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 Bu ...

, 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 ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

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 generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

'', a 2012

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

, 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, a ...

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 project

Live updating map of the Box's position

Image of The Box
{{Intermodal containers BBC Intermodal containers 2008 in transport 2009 in transport