American President Lines
Encyclopedia
American President Lines Ltd. (now simply referred to as APL) is the world's seventh-largest container
transportation and shipping
company, providing services to more than 140 countries through a network combining intermodal freight transport
operations with IT and e-commerce. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Neptune Orient Lines
(NOL), based in Singapore
, a global transportation and logistics company engaged in shipping and related businesses. APL has offices in almost 100 countries worldwide. The APL United States regional headquarters is in Scottsdale, Arizona
.
APL and its predecessors once were engaged in passenger service serving the Asia-Pacific route, among others. However, these ceased in 1973. Liners included the SS President Cleveland and the SS President Wilson.
In 1938 the U.S. Government took over the management of the Dollar Steamship Co. which was in financial difficulties and transferred their assets to the newly formed American President Line.
The company operated trans-Pacific and round-the-world services, but the war in Europe disrupted services and after the entry of the United States into the war, all the company's ships were taken over for war duties under the War Shipping Administration
.
Following the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, the United States Pacific coastline
now extended from Puget Sound
to San Diego
. When the 29th Congress
passed the Mail Steamer Bill (1847), mail delivery was authorized to be routed by ship from the Eastern Seaboard
to the Pacific Coast via the Isthmus of Panama
, with two steamship routes operating: New York City to Chagres
, Colombia
on the Eastern side of the isthmus, and then a second route from Panama
, Colombia to Astoria
, Oregon. That same year, William Henry Aspinwall
secured a 10-year government contract through Arnold Harris, with the New York State Senate
incorporating the Pacific Mail Steamship Company
with a capital of $400,000, of which Aspinwall was elected the first president. This company was to move the mail from Panama
to the West Coast, being paid $199,000 per annum by the U.S. Government. In January 1848, the company ordered three mail steamer
s from the shipyard
of William Henry Webb: the SS California, SS Panama and SS Oregon. On October 5 or October 6, 1848 the Pacific Mail's first of these steamers
, the SS California, departed from New York City to run service from Panama
to the West Coast, traveling around Cape Horn
to San Francisco—coincidentally, the California Gold Rush
began in January of that year, and the steamer—and its sisters, Oregon and Panama—took on many hopeful miners en route.
Prior to founding Pacific Mail, Aspinwall had extensive experience in the shipping business as a partner in Howland & Aspinwall
. Howland & Aspinwall operated some of the most famous clipper ships
ever built. In 1845, while it already owned the Ann McKim, which was regarded as the fastest ship afloat, the firm built the Rainbow
, which was even faster. The Rainbow is considered to be the first of the extreme clippers, which were the racehorses of the sea. The next year, the company had the Sea Witch
built, which set a speed record from China to New York which still stands.
Clipper ships sacrificed cargo capacity for speed, but in some markets, the fast service allowed their owners to charge premium rates (Tea from China tasted better if it was fresh, so the cargo on the first ship of the season to arrive in New York was worth more). Also, faster speed meant that the vessel could complete more voyages in a given time period, which also helped make up for the diminished cargo capacity.
When in 1850 the Pacific Mail Steamship Company established a competing line to the U.S. Mail Steamship Company
between New York
and Chagres
, George Law
placed an opposition Pacific Line of steamers (SS Antelope, SS Columbus, SS Isthmus, SS Republic) in the Pacific running from Panama
to San Francisco. In April 1851, the rivalry was ended when an agreement was made between the companies, the U.S. Mail Steamship Company purchased the Pacific Mail steamers on the Atlantic side (SS Crescent City, SS Empire City, SS Philadelphia), and George Law sold his ships and new line to the Pacific Mail.
By 1850 Pacific Mail maintained a monopoly over the Panama-Oregon trade, helped by the purchase of two steamers from Empire City Line. Large numbers of prospective gold miners paying for passage to California had meant that by 1850, the capital of Pacific Mail had increased from $400,000 to over $2 million. Pacific Mail also ordered four new ships, designed to meet the needs of trade to and from California, and opened ship depots at Panama City and Benicia
, California. Aspinwall invested in the Panama Railroad Company
, which would replace old wagon trails across the Isthmus, cutting travel time from four days to four hours. In 1852, George Law went into partnership with Aspinwall and developed its eastern terminal next to the wharf at Aspinwall
, Columbia, then sold his interest in 1853. This line was completed in 1855, and coordination between steamships and this line meant the travel time from San Francisco to New York was cut to 21 days.
In 1856, Aspinwall retired from the position of president of the Pacific Mail Company, with the former secretary
, William H. Davidge, taking the presidency. Under his control, the company's capital doubled, to $4 million, but the major turning point of his presidency of the company was in 1858, when Pacific Mail's contract with the government expired. However, at the same time, the contract of the U.S. Mail Steamship Company also expired. This company had been providing the ships for the New York to Panama route and went out of business in 1859. A through service was deemed necessary (and profitable), and the company bought three new ships: the SS Adriatic, SS Atlantic and SS Baltic, all of which had formerly belonged to Collins Line
. However, competition from the other Atlantic steamship lines was fierce, and within a few years, the route on the Atlantic side was pulled.
During the Civil War
(1861–1865), Pacific Mail used its steamers to transport gold to the East Coast to support the Northern cause. The company also received the SS Colorado, launched from the same shipyard as the SS California. By the end of the war (1865), under the new presidency, Pacific Mail purchased its competitor, Atlantic Mail Steamship Company, which at this point was providing service from New York to the Isthmus. This in turn meant that, at last, Pacific Mail was able to provide complete service from New York to the West Coast via the Isthmus, without competition.
In 1866, the U.S. Government
awarded the first mail contract of $500,000 per annum between San Francisco and the Far East — namely Hong Kong
via Japan and the Sandwich Islands
(later known as the Hawaiian Islands
) — to Pacific Mail. The SS Colorado was pulled from the original New York–San Francisco route to be used on the new route from San Francisco to China and Japan. The Colorado was outfitted with a mizzen mast
and more coal
storage for the voyage, and in 1867, became the first steamship to run a regular service across the Pacific Ocean, running from San Francisco to Yokohama
, Japan and onward to Hong Kong. Pacific Mail also ordered four new ships to run on this route: the SS China, SS Japan, SS Great Republic and SS America. These ships were ordered at a cost of $1 million, and the capital of the company was increased to $20 million to cover this cost.
By 1867, the company was running four different lines:
Through these links, freight could be moved from New York to Yokohama in 42 days, to Shanghai in 47 days and Hong Kong in 50 days, including all detentions
. In this same year, the company owned 25 ships, with a combined tonnage
of 61,474 tons.
In 1869, the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
meant that the passenger traffic on the Panama route declined. However, in 1872, the U.S. government doubled the subsidy on mail transported by Pacific Mail, although it required the doubling of service and the modernization of the fleet. Therefore, in 1873, Pacific Mail took delivery of the first of 11 iron
–hulled
, screw-powered
steamships, the City of Peking. In 1875, William Henry Aspinwall, died on January 18 at the age of 68, but Pacific Mail continued on, and soon began service to Australia and New Zealand.
During the 1880s Pacific Mail modernized its ships with steel
hulls, replacing the old iron vessels, and installed electric lighting
by Thomas Edison
on the SS Columbia, making it the first ship to have electrical power in the world. In 1893, the Southern Pacific Co. acquired control over the Pacific Mail. In 1902, Pacific Mail launched the SS Korea and SS Siberia, which were its first steel-hulled ships, followed by SS Manchuria and SS Mongolia in 1904. These ships were the largest and fastest passenger-freight ships in the Pacific, the latter two measuring more than 13,600 gross tons, larger than any other ship the company owned at the time.
In 1912, Congress banned ships owned by railroads from using the Panama Canal
, and so Pacific Mail was sold to Grace Steamship Company, where it operated as a subsidiary from 1916 to 1925, when the company was bought by the Dollar Shipping Company.
purchased his first ship marking the beginning of his shipping empire. Dollar was born in Falkirk
, Scotland
in 1844, moving to Canada at the age of 11, where he worked in a lumber camp
. Following this, in 1893, he purchased his own sawmill on the Pacific Coast. However, due to unreliable shipping timetables, he found it hard to ship his lumber
from the Pacific Northwest
down the coast towards California. Hence, in 1893
or 1895, Dollar bought a steam schooner
called Newsboy. This led to the establishment of the Dollar Steamship Company (commonly known as "Dollar Line") on August 12, 1900, which soon grew to have a large fleet of schooners transporting lumber to market.
In 1902, Dollar sailed to Asia for the first time on a Pacific Mail ship, the SS China, to prospect potential lumber markets on the other side of the Pacific. He began to acquire a number of ships, and began his trans-Pacific shipping with a chartered
voyage to Yokohama, Japan and the Philippines, marking his entry into international shipping. During World War I, Dollar ordered the construction of $30 million worth of ships in China, and in 1923 bought seven "502 President Type" liners
from the US Shipping Board, pioneering his round-the-world service, marked by the departure of SS President Harrison on January 5, 1924. These were all named after US presidents
, a tradition that Dollar Shipping continued until its end.
This was followed up in 1925 by the purchase of eight more "535 President Type" liners from the Shipping Board, which had previously been run by Pacific Mail. Dollar Shipping bid much lower than Pacific Mail for the ships — on the order of $1 million — but Pacific Mail's offer included stocks as well as cash. Thus, the Shipping Board declared that Pacific Mail was unable to meet the terms of tender, and awarded $30 million worth of ships to Dollar Shipping. This naturally caused troubles for Pacific Mail, and it was taken over by Dollar Shipping the same year, although Dollar had ordered his sons to begin buying stock of the company in 1920. The Dollar Line also acquired the Admiral Oriental Line, making it one of the most profitable shipping companies in the world.
Dollar Line continued expanding its business in the late 1920s, buying five more "535 President Type" ships in 1926. In that year, Dollar Line carried over 45,000 passengers and had a gross revenue of $6 million. Dollar encouraged others to invest in Asia with his booklet, "Have You Investigated the Oriental Market for Your Product?", helping to open up Asia to 20th-century industry. The Merchant Marine Act of 1928
(also known as the Jones–White act) also helped Dollar Line, allowing it to sign a lucrative new mail contract and requiring it to build new ships to meet demand.
The Wall Street Crash of 1929
led to the Great Depression
, which naturally affected Dollar Steamship Line (renamed that same year). The company's two largest ships (both just under 22,000 tons), SS President Hoover and SS President Coolidge were completed in 1931, but even though they were state-of-the-art, luxurious vessels rivaling the best hotels of the era, the ships only carried half their capacity — 988 passengers accompanied by 324 crew — on their maiden voyage
s due to the depression.
In 1932, Robert Dollar died at the age of 88 on May 16, being succeeded by his son, Robert Stanley Dollar. Following his death, the company began a steady decline. In 1937, the SS President Hoover ran aground off the coast of Taiwan
, and was written off as a total loss. By 1938, The company was $7 million in debt
, with interest increasing this by $80,000 per day. In August that year, the United States Maritime Commission
judged the company to be unsound, assuming control and renaming it American President Lines
and Victory
ships that were built. In 1944, an additional 16 ships were built specifically for APL, including SS President Buchanan, a Victory class vessel. At the end of the war in 1945, the company's assets were valued at $40 million.
One of the APL ships in World War II still survives. The S.S. Lane Victory is a Victory ship
which is preserved as a museum ship
in the San Pedro
area of Los Angeles, California
. As a rare surviving Victory ship, it is a U.S. National Historic Landmark
. The Lane Victory was built by the California Shipbuilding Corporation
in Los Angeles, California
and launched on 31 May 1945.
In 1945, R. Stanley Dollar, son of Robert Dollar, initiated court proceedings in the form of the Dollar case, in an attempt to force the return of the company from the government to his family. This case would last seven years, with the government continuing the operation of APL in the meantime. APL restarted its round-the-world passenger service, and launched the SS President Cleveland and SS President Wilson the next year, which were advertised as "your American hotel abroad." In the 1950s, the company again expanded, building more ships; 11 were built between 1952 and 1954. These included C-4 class cargo ships. Also, a settlement was finally reached in the Dollar case. Rather than the Dollar family taking back the company, it was sold to a group of investors led by Ralph K. Davies for $18.3 million.
In 1958, the company began investigating the possibility of containerization
, and sent investigation teams into 28 major ports. Following the reports, Davies began integrating containers into the company's business. By 1961, the company had begun launching ships capable of container transport, the first two of these being the SS President Tyler and SS President Lincoln. Ports also began adapting to the new container-based system, although many potential customers were still wary. By the end of the decade, the company was still launching more container-capable ships, and by 1969, 23% of the company's business moved via container.
By 1971, the use of containers had again increased; 58% of the company's business moved via container. The increasing use of air travel meant that the company's passenger services had steadily been declining throughout the 1960s, and by 1973, the last liner, the SS President Wilson, completed her last round-the-world trip and was sold off. During the 1970s, the company continued to build new vessels capable of container transport, but pulled back from worldwide freight service to purely trans-Pacific routes only. In 1978, the company began work on the concept of intermodalism
: the idea of moving containerized goods via ship, train and truck. By 1979, APL started the LinerTrain, the first direct rail service transporting containers from Los Angeles to New York, leading to the most reliable delivery of containers at the time. At the same time, the company built its three largest vessels to date: three C-9 class diesel-powered container vessels, the first of which was the President Lincoln.
In 1984, the company started StackTrain
service, an idea following on from the successful LinerTrain venture. This involved using double-stack car
s, rail cars that could carry two containers on top of each other rather than carrying just a single container, due to the center of the car being lowered, hence the common name for double stack cars: "well cars." Previous versions had been tried, but the lack of a center depression meant that height restrictions severely limited their routes. The idea to lower the center of the car was invented by APL, along with rail car manufacturer Thrall
. Service was provided by the Union Pacific Railroad
and Norfolk Southern Railway
.
An interesting side effect was created by the design of the cars, which involved five permanently coupled cars in a set. This reduced the number of couplers, which meant that slack action
was reduced. Slack is created in any train by the couplers between the cars being stretched and compressed, and in long, heavy trains this can be quite a powerful force. By reducing this, the company unexpectedly reduced the damage caused to the freight transported in containers.
At the same time, the company continued to modernize its fleet, with ever larger and faster ships, all of which were outfitted for container transport. APL also started a door-to-door service, known as the Red Eagle service. Another initiative was to introduce larger container sizes: 45 ft (13.7 m) containers in 1982, 48 ft (14.6 m) containers in 1985 and 53 ft (16.2 m) containers in 1988. Also in 1988, the company developed post-Panamax
vessels, those too large to transit the Panama Canal. These ships were 903 feet (275.2 m) long and 129 feet (39.3 m) wide, with the ability to carry 4300 TEUs
, a TEU being an arbitrary container unit 20 feet (6.1 m) long. All these developments led APL to be declared an industry leader in 1989, with the award of the "Admiral of the Ocean Sea Award" by the United Seamen's Service to the president, W. Bruce Seaton.
The 1990s were a period of continued growth for APL. It still clung to the tradition of naming ships after US presidents, and it had a fleet of 20 fully containerized ships at this point with a combined capacity of 20,000 TEUs. In 1991, APL started stack train service from Chicago
to Mexico
, serving Chrysler
auto plants, as well as providing general service. The company also invested heavily in information technology
, using this to keep track of its ever-growing fleet of trains, containers and ships. This has been continually upgraded ever since.
In 1993, the company continued to increase its revenues, and entered a 30-year agreement with the Port of Los Angeles
to open a new terminal, at a cost of $70 million. The next year, it almost doubled the size of its Seattle terminal as well, increasing it from 83 acres (335,889.4 m²) to 160. The company became the first shipper to open a website
in 1995, and offered on-line shipment transactions. In 1997, the company was bought by Neptune Orient Lines
for $285 million, at a cost of $33.50 per share. In 1998, the APL vessel APL CHINA encountered a storm south of the Aleutian Islands. The loses to the cargo, with 388 containers going overboard and many others damaged as well as damage to the ship, initiated $50 million in lawsuit claims against APL. This may have been the largest maritime shipping loss in history.
In 1999, the stack train franchise was sold off to Pacer, and is now known as Pacer Stacktrain. In the new millennium, the company's business began to falter. In 2001, parent company NOL reported losses of $57 million, followed by an amazing loss of $330 million in 2002. At this same time, APL's sales dropped from $3.8 billion in 2000 to $3.4 billion in 2002. Acting CEO Ron Widdows began a campaign of cost-cutting and sped up decision making, and since 2003, the company has been making money again. In 2005, the company introduced the "Real-Time Locating System" using RFID tags, which accurately recorded the position of every container within the system, reducing delays and lost containers—APL's Global Gateway South terminal in Los Angeles now moves 1.65 million TEUs annually.
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
transportation and shipping
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
company, providing services to more than 140 countries through a network combining intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...
operations with IT and e-commerce. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Neptune Orient Lines
Neptune Orient Lines
Neptune Orient Lines Limited , is a Singapore-based global transport company with core businesses in container shipping and supply chain management...
(NOL), based in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, a global transportation and logistics company engaged in shipping and related businesses. APL has offices in almost 100 countries worldwide. The APL United States regional headquarters is in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
.
APL and its predecessors once were engaged in passenger service serving the Asia-Pacific route, among others. However, these ceased in 1973. Liners included the SS President Cleveland and the SS President Wilson.
In 1938 the U.S. Government took over the management of the Dollar Steamship Co. which was in financial difficulties and transferred their assets to the newly formed American President Line.
The company operated trans-Pacific and round-the-world services, but the war in Europe disrupted services and after the entry of the United States into the war, all the company's ships were taken over for war duties under the War Shipping Administration
War Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
.
Pacific Mail Steamship Company
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
now extended from Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
to San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. When the 29th Congress
29th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:During this congress, two House seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.-Leadership:-Senate:* President: George M. Dallas * President pro tempore: Willie P. Mangum...
passed the Mail Steamer Bill (1847), mail delivery was authorized to be routed by ship from the Eastern Seaboard
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
to the Pacific Coast via the Isthmus of Panama
Isthmus of Panama
The Isthmus of Panama, also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country of Panama and the Panama Canal...
, with two steamship routes operating: New York City to Chagres
Chagres
Chagres, a village of the Republic of Panama in the Colón Province. It has a harbour from 10 to I ~ ft. deep, which is difficult to enter. The port was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1502, and was opened for traffic with Panama, on the Pacific coast, by way of the Chagres River, in the 16th...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
on the Eastern side of the isthmus, and then a second route from Panama
Panama City
Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
, Colombia to Astoria
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
, Oregon. That same year, William Henry Aspinwall
William Henry Aspinwall
William Henry Aspinwall was an American businessman.In 1832, he became president of the Howland & Aspinwall merchant firm, which had been founded by his cousin and expanded trade to South America, China, Europe, the Mediterranean, and the East and West Indies. Howland & Aspinwall owned some of the...
secured a 10-year government contract through Arnold Harris, with the New York State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
incorporating the Pacific Mail Steamship Company
Pacific Mail Steamship Company
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848 as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants, William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland...
with a capital of $400,000, of which Aspinwall was elected the first president. This company was to move the mail from Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
to the West Coast, being paid $199,000 per annum by the U.S. Government. In January 1848, the company ordered three mail steamer
Mail steamer
Mail steamers were steamships which carried the mail across waterways, such as across an ocean or between islands, primarily during the 19th Century and early 20th Century, when the cost of sending a letter was declining to the point an ordinary person could afford the cost of sending a letter...
s from the shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
of William Henry Webb: the SS California, SS Panama and SS Oregon. On October 5 or October 6, 1848 the Pacific Mail's first of these steamers
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
, the SS California, departed from New York City to run service from Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
to the West Coast, traveling around Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
to San Francisco—coincidentally, the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
began in January of that year, and the steamer—and its sisters, Oregon and Panama—took on many hopeful miners en route.
Howland & Aspinwall
Howland & Aspinwall was a merchant firm based in New York City in the 1830s and 1840s. It specialized in the Pacific Ocean trade, especially the importing of goods from China...
. Howland & Aspinwall operated some of the most famous clipper ships
Clipper ships
At the 'crest of the clipper wave' year of 1852, there were 200 clippers rounding Cape Horn.Notable examples of the clipper ship include:* Archibald Russell, 1905, a steel-hulled 4-masted barque, 291.3 ft. x 43 ft. x 24 ft., built by Scott Shipbuilding and Engineering Co of Greenock...
ever built. In 1845, while it already owned the Ann McKim, which was regarded as the fastest ship afloat, the firm built the Rainbow
Rainbow (clipper)
The Rainbow, launched in New York in 1845 to sail in the China trade for the firm Howland & Aspinwall, was the first extreme clipper ship.-The first extreme clipper ship:...
, which was even faster. The Rainbow is considered to be the first of the extreme clippers, which were the racehorses of the sea. The next year, the company had the Sea Witch
Sea Witch (clipper)
The Sea Witch was an American clipper ship designed by naval architect John W. Griffiths for the China trading firm of Howland & Aspinwall. She was launched in Manhattan on December 8, 1846.-Model for American clipper ship design:...
built, which set a speed record from China to New York which still stands.
Clipper ships sacrificed cargo capacity for speed, but in some markets, the fast service allowed their owners to charge premium rates (Tea from China tasted better if it was fresh, so the cargo on the first ship of the season to arrive in New York was worth more). Also, faster speed meant that the vessel could complete more voyages in a given time period, which also helped make up for the diminished cargo capacity.
When in 1850 the Pacific Mail Steamship Company established a competing line to the U.S. Mail Steamship Company
U.S. Mail Steamship Company
U.S. Mail Steamship Company was a company formed in 1848 by George Law, Marshall O. Roberts and Bowes R. McIlvaine to assume the contract to carry the U. S. mails from New York, with stops in New Orleans and Havana, to the Isthmus of Panama for delivery in California...
between New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Chagres
Chagres
Chagres, a village of the Republic of Panama in the Colón Province. It has a harbour from 10 to I ~ ft. deep, which is difficult to enter. The port was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1502, and was opened for traffic with Panama, on the Pacific coast, by way of the Chagres River, in the 16th...
, George Law
George Law (financier)
George Law an American financier, b. in Jackson, Washington Co., N.Y., 25 October 1806; d. in New York city, 18 November 1881.- Early life :George Law was born in Jackson, New York and his only early education had been obtained in a winter night school. At age of eighteen he left his father's farm...
placed an opposition Pacific Line of steamers (SS Antelope, SS Columbus, SS Isthmus, SS Republic) in the Pacific running from Panama
Panama City
Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
to San Francisco. In April 1851, the rivalry was ended when an agreement was made between the companies, the U.S. Mail Steamship Company purchased the Pacific Mail steamers on the Atlantic side (SS Crescent City, SS Empire City, SS Philadelphia), and George Law sold his ships and new line to the Pacific Mail.
By 1850 Pacific Mail maintained a monopoly over the Panama-Oregon trade, helped by the purchase of two steamers from Empire City Line. Large numbers of prospective gold miners paying for passage to California had meant that by 1850, the capital of Pacific Mail had increased from $400,000 to over $2 million. Pacific Mail also ordered four new ships, designed to meet the needs of trade to and from California, and opened ship depots at Panama City and Benicia
Benicia, California
Benicia is a waterside city in Solano County, California, United States. It was the first city in California to be founded by Anglo-Americans, and served as the state capital for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the San...
, California. Aspinwall invested in the Panama Railroad Company
Panama Railway
The Panama Canal Railway Company is a railway line that links the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean across Panama in Central America. It is jointly owned by the Kansas City Southern Railway and Mi-Jack Products...
, which would replace old wagon trails across the Isthmus, cutting travel time from four days to four hours. In 1852, George Law went into partnership with Aspinwall and developed its eastern terminal next to the wharf at Aspinwall
Colón, Panama
Colón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....
, Columbia, then sold his interest in 1853. This line was completed in 1855, and coordination between steamships and this line meant the travel time from San Francisco to New York was cut to 21 days.
In 1856, Aspinwall retired from the position of president of the Pacific Mail Company, with the former secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
, William H. Davidge, taking the presidency. Under his control, the company's capital doubled, to $4 million, but the major turning point of his presidency of the company was in 1858, when Pacific Mail's contract with the government expired. However, at the same time, the contract of the U.S. Mail Steamship Company also expired. This company had been providing the ships for the New York to Panama route and went out of business in 1859. A through service was deemed necessary (and profitable), and the company bought three new ships: the SS Adriatic, SS Atlantic and SS Baltic, all of which had formerly belonged to Collins Line
Collins Line
The Collins Line is the common name for the American shipping company started by Israel Collins and then built up by his son Edward Knight Collins...
. However, competition from the other Atlantic steamship lines was fierce, and within a few years, the route on the Atlantic side was pulled.
During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
(1861–1865), Pacific Mail used its steamers to transport gold to the East Coast to support the Northern cause. The company also received the SS Colorado, launched from the same shipyard as the SS California. By the end of the war (1865), under the new presidency, Pacific Mail purchased its competitor, Atlantic Mail Steamship Company, which at this point was providing service from New York to the Isthmus. This in turn meant that, at last, Pacific Mail was able to provide complete service from New York to the West Coast via the Isthmus, without competition.
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
awarded the first mail contract of $500,000 per annum between San Francisco and the Far East — namely Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
via Japan and the Sandwich Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
(later known as the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
) — to Pacific Mail. The SS Colorado was pulled from the original New York–San Francisco route to be used on the new route from San Francisco to China and Japan. The Colorado was outfitted with a mizzen mast
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
and more coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
storage for the voyage, and in 1867, became the first steamship to run a regular service across the Pacific Ocean, running from San Francisco to Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan and onward to Hong Kong. Pacific Mail also ordered four new ships to run on this route: the SS China, SS Japan, SS Great Republic and SS America. These ships were ordered at a cost of $1 million, and the capital of the company was increased to $20 million to cover this cost.
By 1867, the company was running four different lines:
- The Atlantic Line, between New York and Aspinwall, Panama. This ran thrice monthly.
- The Pacific Line, which linked with the Atlantic Line, which ran between Panama and San Francisco, stopping at AcapulcoAcapulcoAcapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
and ManzanilloManzanillo, ColimaThe name Manzanillo refers to the city as well as its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Colima. The city, located on the Pacific Ocean, contains Mexico's busiest port. Manzanillo was the third port created by the Spanish in the Pacific during the New Spain period...
. This route also ran thrice monthly, except for the latter, which ran once monthly. - The China Line, between San Francisco and Hong Kong, stopping at Yokohama. This ran once monthly. This linked with the Pacific Line.
- The Shanghai Line, which ran between Yokohama and ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, via Nagasaki. This also ran once monthly, linking with the China Line.
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
. In this same year, the company owned 25 ships, with a combined tonnage
Tonnage
Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume...
of 61,474 tons.
In 1869, the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
Transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway companies...
meant that the passenger traffic on the Panama route declined. However, in 1872, the U.S. government doubled the subsidy on mail transported by Pacific Mail, although it required the doubling of service and the modernization of the fleet. Therefore, in 1873, Pacific Mail took delivery of the first of 11 iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
–hulled
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
, screw-powered
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
steamships, the City of Peking. In 1875, William Henry Aspinwall, died on January 18 at the age of 68, but Pacific Mail continued on, and soon began service to Australia and New Zealand.
During the 1880s Pacific Mail modernized its ships with steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
hulls, replacing the old iron vessels, and installed electric lighting
Lamp (electrical component)
A lamp is a replaceable component such as an incandescent light bulb, which is designed to produce light from electricity. These components usually have a base of ceramic, metal, glass or plastic, which makes an electrical connection in the socket of a light fixture. This connection may be made...
by Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
on the SS Columbia, making it the first ship to have electrical power in the world. In 1893, the Southern Pacific Co. acquired control over the Pacific Mail. In 1902, Pacific Mail launched the SS Korea and SS Siberia, which were its first steel-hulled ships, followed by SS Manchuria and SS Mongolia in 1904. These ships were the largest and fastest passenger-freight ships in the Pacific, the latter two measuring more than 13,600 gross tons, larger than any other ship the company owned at the time.
In 1912, Congress banned ships owned by railroads from using the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, and so Pacific Mail was sold to Grace Steamship Company, where it operated as a subsidiary from 1916 to 1925, when the company was bought by the Dollar Shipping Company.
Dollar Shipping Company
Meanwhile, Captain Robert DollarRobert Dollar
Captain Robert Dollar was born in Falkirk, Scotland. The title "Captain" was honorary and he was called the “Grand Old Man of the Pacific". Both were bestowed after his entry into the shipping industry. Dollar became a lumber baron, shipping magnate, philanthropist; he was also a Freemason...
purchased his first ship marking the beginning of his shipping empire. Dollar was born in Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1844, moving to Canada at the age of 11, where he worked in a lumber camp
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
. Following this, in 1893, he purchased his own sawmill on the Pacific Coast. However, due to unreliable shipping timetables, he found it hard to ship his lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
from the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
down the coast towards California. Hence, in 1893
or 1895, Dollar bought a steam schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
called Newsboy. This led to the establishment of the Dollar Steamship Company (commonly known as "Dollar Line") on August 12, 1900, which soon grew to have a large fleet of schooners transporting lumber to market.
In 1902, Dollar sailed to Asia for the first time on a Pacific Mail ship, the SS China, to prospect potential lumber markets on the other side of the Pacific. He began to acquire a number of ships, and began his trans-Pacific shipping with a chartered
Chartering (shipping)
Chartering is an activity within the shipping industry. In some cases a charterer may own cargo and employ a shipbroker to find a ship to deliver the cargo for a certain price, called freight rate. Freight rates may be on a per-ton basis over a certain route or alternatively may be expressed in...
voyage to Yokohama, Japan and the Philippines, marking his entry into international shipping. During World War I, Dollar ordered the construction of $30 million worth of ships in China, and in 1923 bought seven "502 President Type" liners
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
from the US Shipping Board, pioneering his round-the-world service, marked by the departure of SS President Harrison on January 5, 1924. These were all named after US presidents
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, a tradition that Dollar Shipping continued until its end.
Dollar Line continued expanding its business in the late 1920s, buying five more "535 President Type" ships in 1926. In that year, Dollar Line carried over 45,000 passengers and had a gross revenue of $6 million. Dollar encouraged others to invest in Asia with his booklet, "Have You Investigated the Oriental Market for Your Product?", helping to open up Asia to 20th-century industry. The Merchant Marine Act of 1928
Merchant Marine Act of 1928
The Merchant Marine Act of 1928 is currently printed in the United States Code in Title 46A Chapter 24A. – sponsored by Sen. Wesley L. Jones of Washington and Sen. Wallace H...
(also known as the Jones–White act) also helped Dollar Line, allowing it to sign a lucrative new mail contract and requiring it to build new ships to meet demand.
The Wall Street Crash of 1929
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
led to the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, which naturally affected Dollar Steamship Line (renamed that same year). The company's two largest ships (both just under 22,000 tons), SS President Hoover and SS President Coolidge were completed in 1931, but even though they were state-of-the-art, luxurious vessels rivaling the best hotels of the era, the ships only carried half their capacity — 988 passengers accompanied by 324 crew — on their maiden voyage
Maiden voyage
The maiden voyage of a ship, aircraft or other craft is the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it....
s due to the depression.
In 1932, Robert Dollar died at the age of 88 on May 16, being succeeded by his son, Robert Stanley Dollar. Following his death, the company began a steady decline. In 1937, the SS President Hoover ran aground off the coast of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and was written off as a total loss. By 1938, The company was $7 million in debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
, with interest increasing this by $80,000 per day. In August that year, the United States Maritime Commission
United States Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...
judged the company to be unsound, assuming control and renaming it American President Lines
American President Lines
By 1940, the US Government had commissioned 16 new ships for APL, continuing the "president" naming of ships, one of these examples being SS President Jackson, a C-3 class merchant vessel. In 1941, the US entered World War II, and in 1942 the War Shipping Administration was created, of which APL was an agent. APL worked on the management of some of the Administration's ships, maintaining and overhauling them as well as crewing them and being responsible for the handling of cargo and passengers. APL's own ships were used, in addition to the many LibertyLiberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
and Victory
Victory ship
The Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace shipping losses caused by German submarines...
ships that were built. In 1944, an additional 16 ships were built specifically for APL, including SS President Buchanan, a Victory class vessel. At the end of the war in 1945, the company's assets were valued at $40 million.
One of the APL ships in World War II still survives. The S.S. Lane Victory is a Victory ship
Victory ship
The Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace shipping losses caused by German submarines...
which is preserved as a museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
in the San Pedro
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...
area of Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. As a rare surviving Victory ship, it is a U.S. National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
. The Lane Victory was built by the California Shipbuilding Corporation
California Shipbuilding Corporation
California Shipbuilding Corporation built 467 Liberty and Victory ships during World War II, including Haskell-class attack transports. California Shipbuilding Corporation was often referred to as Calship...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and launched on 31 May 1945.
In 1945, R. Stanley Dollar, son of Robert Dollar, initiated court proceedings in the form of the Dollar case, in an attempt to force the return of the company from the government to his family. This case would last seven years, with the government continuing the operation of APL in the meantime. APL restarted its round-the-world passenger service, and launched the SS President Cleveland and SS President Wilson the next year, which were advertised as "your American hotel abroad." In the 1950s, the company again expanded, building more ships; 11 were built between 1952 and 1954. These included C-4 class cargo ships. Also, a settlement was finally reached in the Dollar case. Rather than the Dollar family taking back the company, it was sold to a group of investors led by Ralph K. Davies for $18.3 million.
In 1958, the company began investigating the possibility of containerization
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
, and sent investigation teams into 28 major ports. Following the reports, Davies began integrating containers into the company's business. By 1961, the company had begun launching ships capable of container transport, the first two of these being the SS President Tyler and SS President Lincoln. Ports also began adapting to the new container-based system, although many potential customers were still wary. By the end of the decade, the company was still launching more container-capable ships, and by 1969, 23% of the company's business moved via container.
By 1971, the use of containers had again increased; 58% of the company's business moved via container. The increasing use of air travel meant that the company's passenger services had steadily been declining throughout the 1960s, and by 1973, the last liner, the SS President Wilson, completed her last round-the-world trip and was sold off. During the 1970s, the company continued to build new vessels capable of container transport, but pulled back from worldwide freight service to purely trans-Pacific routes only. In 1978, the company began work on the concept of intermodalism
Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...
: the idea of moving containerized goods via ship, train and truck. By 1979, APL started the LinerTrain, the first direct rail service transporting containers from Los Angeles to New York, leading to the most reliable delivery of containers at the time. At the same time, the company built its three largest vessels to date: three C-9 class diesel-powered container vessels, the first of which was the President Lincoln.
In 1984, the company started StackTrain
Pacer Stacktrain
Pacer Stacktrain is a provider of wholesale intermodal transportation services in North America. Pacer Stacktrain's parent company, Pacer International, is a member of the Fortune 1000....
service, an idea following on from the successful LinerTrain venture. This involved using double-stack car
Double-stack car
A well car, also known as a double-stack car or stack car, is a type of railroad car specially designed to carry intermodal containers used in intermodal freight transport. The "well" is a depressed section which sits close to the rails between the wheel trucks of the car, allowing a container to...
s, rail cars that could carry two containers on top of each other rather than carrying just a single container, due to the center of the car being lowered, hence the common name for double stack cars: "well cars." Previous versions had been tried, but the lack of a center depression meant that height restrictions severely limited their routes. The idea to lower the center of the car was invented by APL, along with rail car manufacturer Thrall
Thrall Car Manufacturing Company
Thrall Car was started by "Pops" Thrall in Chicago Heights, Illinois, as a railcar repair facility. Over the years Thrall expanded to a railcar builder with plants across the United States and in Europe...
. Service was provided by the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
and Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
.
An interesting side effect was created by the design of the cars, which involved five permanently coupled cars in a set. This reduced the number of couplers, which meant that slack action
Slack action
In railroading, slack action is the amount of free movement of one car before it transmits its motion to an adjoining coupled car. This free movement results from the fact that in railroad practice cars are loosely coupled, and the coupling is often combined with a shock-absorbing device, a "draft...
was reduced. Slack is created in any train by the couplers between the cars being stretched and compressed, and in long, heavy trains this can be quite a powerful force. By reducing this, the company unexpectedly reduced the damage caused to the freight transported in containers.
At the same time, the company continued to modernize its fleet, with ever larger and faster ships, all of which were outfitted for container transport. APL also started a door-to-door service, known as the Red Eagle service. Another initiative was to introduce larger container sizes: 45 ft (13.7 m) containers in 1982, 48 ft (14.6 m) containers in 1985 and 53 ft (16.2 m) containers in 1988. Also in 1988, the company developed post-Panamax
Panamax
Panamax and New Panamax are popular terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. Formally, the limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority titled "Vessel Requirements"...
vessels, those too large to transit the Panama Canal. These ships were 903 feet (275.2 m) long and 129 feet (39.3 m) wide, with the ability to carry 4300 TEUs
Twenty-foot equivalent unit
The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals...
, a TEU being an arbitrary container unit 20 feet (6.1 m) long. All these developments led APL to be declared an industry leader in 1989, with the award of the "Admiral of the Ocean Sea Award" by the United Seamen's Service to the president, W. Bruce Seaton.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, serving Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
auto plants, as well as providing general service. The company also invested heavily in information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, using this to keep track of its ever-growing fleet of trains, containers and ships. This has been continually upgraded ever since.
In 1993, the company continued to increase its revenues, and entered a 30-year agreement with the Port of Los Angeles
Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles, also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT L.A, is a port complex that occupies of land and water along of waterfront. The port is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately south of downtown...
to open a new terminal, at a cost of $70 million. The next year, it almost doubled the size of its Seattle terminal as well, increasing it from 83 acres (335,889.4 m²) to 160. The company became the first shipper to open a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
in 1995, and offered on-line shipment transactions. In 1997, the company was bought by Neptune Orient Lines
Neptune Orient Lines
Neptune Orient Lines Limited , is a Singapore-based global transport company with core businesses in container shipping and supply chain management...
for $285 million, at a cost of $33.50 per share. In 1998, the APL vessel APL CHINA encountered a storm south of the Aleutian Islands. The loses to the cargo, with 388 containers going overboard and many others damaged as well as damage to the ship, initiated $50 million in lawsuit claims against APL. This may have been the largest maritime shipping loss in history.
In 1999, the stack train franchise was sold off to Pacer, and is now known as Pacer Stacktrain. In the new millennium, the company's business began to falter. In 2001, parent company NOL reported losses of $57 million, followed by an amazing loss of $330 million in 2002. At this same time, APL's sales dropped from $3.8 billion in 2000 to $3.4 billion in 2002. Acting CEO Ron Widdows began a campaign of cost-cutting and sped up decision making, and since 2003, the company has been making money again. In 2005, the company introduced the "Real-Time Locating System" using RFID tags, which accurately recorded the position of every container within the system, reducing delays and lost containers—APL's Global Gateway South terminal in Los Angeles now moves 1.65 million TEUs annually.
External links
- APL website
- NOL Group website (includes reports and financial information)
- http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org SS Jeremiah O'Brien - Liberty Ship website
- http://www.lanevictory.org SS Lane Victory - Victory Ship website