During our everyday lives, we use and interact with a lot of stuff. Whether it’s our phones, our cars or our the banana we had for breakfast, all this stuff has to come from somewhere ? and it’s usually somewhere that’s pretty far away from our homes.
That’s where the international and American cargo shipping industries come in. By sea, land and air, cargo companies bring goods and products both between borders and within them. In fact, one report estimates that 90 percent of the products we buy are shipped to us by these companies.
So why do we know so little about them?
Fear not ? that’s why we’ve compiled this look at some of the most surprising and fascinating facts about the shipping industry:
Water shipping is actually the greenest form of mass transport
Compared to land and air cargo shipping, shipping goods by sea in massive cargo tankers is significantly less damaging in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases emitted. Many companies also use recycled and recyclable packaging for optimal eco-friendliness. However, if you were to compare the global shipping industry alongside the world’s biggest polluting countries, it would come in sixth ? so it has a ways to go before it’s as green as it should be.
Shipping is a hugely profitable industry
Did you know that shipping makes up a whopping 2 percent of the U.S.’ gross domestic product (GDP)? That’s more than the restaurant, food delivery and civil engineering industries combined. It’s no wonder that many people look into purchasing agent job descriptions and purchasing agent resume samples in hopes of getting a job as one.
Shipping is a prime target for pirates
Piracy isn’t relegated to the era of exploration ? in 2017, pirates still exist, and they often pursue cargo ships for the valuable goods they have onboard. In fact, last year, the rate of attacks on cargo ships and other seafarers by pirates was higher than the rate of violent attacks in South Africa ? the world’s most violent country.
Shipping is more than just thinking about oversized cargo barges and purchasing agent resume samples. It’s actually a massive, complex industry that’s responsible for pretty much everything we use in our day-to-day lives. And that’s
