Malcolm McLean who began as a truck driver in North Carolina before developing a very successful trucking company, invented the idea of the shipping container in the 1930’s. He came up with the idea of using the body from a tractor trailer and placing it fully loaded onto a ship or rail car, saving the hassle of unloading and reloading crates from his trucks. This idea became the basis of the Sea-Land company, the first shipping company to utilize cargo containers. His simple invention revolutionized global trade, by increasing the efficiency and ease of shipping, and creating a new standard and interchangeable unit for trade which could be easily transported by ship, truck or rail, without being unloaded..