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The booming shipping network
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Not since 1956, when a North Carolina truck driver named Malcom McLean created a standard-size container for cargo, has global shipping seen such radical change. Carriers are bigger than ever, ports are becoming automated, and routes are shifting. The volume of goods that move between ports in Asia now accounts for 13% of all seaborne trade, up nearly a third from a decade ago. Routes through the ice-free far north now beckon. While global shipping volumes rose 6.2% in 2011 and port operators were profitable, owners of container ships were hit hard by overcapacity and falling cargo rates. In the latest issue of Fortune magazine..
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America’s biggest companies smashed records for earnings in 2011
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Given the sluggish recovery and a strapped consumer, you’d expect to see corporate America trudging along, not racing for glory. In fact, the Fortune 500 are thriving as a group. Unlike the U.S. economy, they’ve shown quicksilver agility, rapidly shifting their product mix and producing more goods at little new cost. This nimbleness belies the immense size of these companies and, frequently, their advanced age. In the latest issue of Fortune.
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Exxon’s big bet on shale gas
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America’s most profitable company now produces about as much natural gas as it does oil. CEO Rex Tillerson thinks the fracking party has just begun. -
Wheels of tomorrow
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While we’re not going to see flying cars for a long, long while, the global automobile industry is indeed undergoing an epic transformation. The rising price of gas, stricter mileage requirements, and concerns about global warming are causing carmakers to rethink how we travel. In the U.S. a newly found 70-year supply of natural gas could mean more trucks powered by this plentiful fuel. Natural gas can also drive power plants, providing cleaner juice for all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. And don’t count out the highly efficient combustion engine. Here’s a look at where we’re headed and how we’ll get there.
In the latest issue of Fortune Magazine. -
World’s most admired companies
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Which companies have the best reputations? Apple tops the list for the fifth year in a row. See who else made the top 50 this year in this tree-map graphic. In the latest issue of Fortune Magazine.
