FreightWaves Classics

In 1975, two identical ore/bulk/oil (O/B/O) ships underwent efficiency experiments. During one of these experiments, a new propeller concept broke midjourney, but the ship continued its duty with no changes in performance and the crew had no idea until it reached its destination.

A collision on the seas involving an American shipping company sparked a heated letter exchange about who was responsible. This fight surprisingly led to the mending of U.S. and China maritime trade.

The endless stories that make up the history of transportation and freight are chronicled in some of the most riveting nonfiction books, but they almost read like novels. Here are the five favorites for the FreightWaves Classics team.

American Shipper in May 1974 took a look at charges for the handling of freight, which were largely unrecorded if they existed at all before the Civil War.

The Silver Bridge collapse has a unique folklore, but it also completely changed how we look at safety regulations for bridges. Hear about the collapse and the stories surrounding it. Then get an inside look with West Virginia DOT’s Tracy W. Brown, a state bridge engineer.

A page from American Shipper’s archives exhibits how shippers felt in 1978 through an eye-catching speech.

FedEx celebrates its golden anniversary of operations with its most intense few years in decades ahead of it.

Today, automation can mean launching a fleet of autonomous robots that can unload shipping containers without human intervention. In 1974, a remote-controlled “bow boat” was considered a major launch.

The latest episode of Tracks Through Time looks at the disappearance of a giant British merchant ship and the long investigation.

In 1977, news of the looming threat of a strike by a union of dockworkers was prevalent in the pages of American Shipper magazine. The publisher at the time ended the April issue that year with an opinion piece discussing the threat.