00:40 – Meet Marc Levinson: The Man Behind The Box
02:05 – What Sparked Marc Levinson’s interest in Global Trade?
02:55 – How the project for the Box really started?
07:00 – What was Malcolm McLean’s unique insight?
10:45 – Why It Took more than a Decade to Standardize Containers
13:48 – The Hidden Stories in the Design of a simple Container
15:21 – How did Malcolm McLean’s Sacrifice Changed global trade Forever
18:34 – How did Containers Reshape New York
22:33 – Labor Unions vs. Containerization: A Battle for Control
25:30 – Why are the U.S. Ports productivity lagging behind Terminals in Asia?
27:17 – Why Are Shipping Stocks a Terrible Investment?
29:38 – How are Bulk Shipping dynamics different from Container Shipping??
31:56 – After Covid, have we entered in a new era of sustained profitability for the Container Shipping Lines?i?
33:15 – How Shipping Lines are expanding their footprint and taking over the supply chain
35:38 – Can Carrier charge a premium for differentiated services??
38:12 – Smoot-Hawley Redux: How will Tariffs Reshape Global Trade?
44:01 – How Containers Enabled intermediate goods
46:27 – The Hidden cost of Modern Supply Chains
48:46 – Is Global Trade Shifting to Services and Ideas?
51:05 -The formation of new Trade Blocs?
53:28 – Rapprochement of China and Latam versus Monroe Doctrine
54:19 – Monetary Policy: Is US manufacturing woes caused by its exhortant privilege?
58:06 – Marc’s next project: When will we see the return on investment from Technology Companies in Logistics?
Economist and historian Marc Levinson spent decades studying what makes global trade systems tick before he penned The Box, a container shipping 101 for industry newcomers and people interested in global trade. Now, on The Schelling Point, he peels back the layers to reveal the customer-centric insight of Malcom McLean who sparked a revolution in global supply chains in 1956 and how Malcolm’s death in 2001 gave him the inspiration on how to write the book that became the bestseller, The Box. The conversation covers the fragility of modern supply chains in a world of shifting tariffs, how tech and logistics leaders should navigate transformation and the benefits of allowing ideas to freely flow and evolve across borders. Tune in to learn more about how infrastructure, standards, and global collaboration shape the future.