Business
Once moving goods across oceans becomes cheap and reliable, a firm no longer has to keep everything in one country. It can put its headquarters in one place, make things in another, and sell everywhere at once. Transport, not just policy or technology, sets how far apart a business's parts can sit.
Packing cargo into a standard container that moves from ship to truck without being unloaded made sea freight a main engine of global trade. Seen this way, the spread of world trade since the 1950s depends on a humble piece of logistics. The plumbing of trade can matter as much as the trade deals themselves.
In a concentrated industry, the strategy of the largest and most inventive player becomes the industry's direction. Its choices about ships, routes and service set the terms competitors must answer. To understand where such an industry is heading, study the leader's playbook.