Hey there!
You can call me Boxy.
Ever since I was a young, flat sheet of cardboard, I've dreamed of being filled with something
important—like a birthday present! —and then going to the ultimate Package Party in
Memphis on my way to deliver it!
And today, it's happening!
Noah’s grandfather in Scotland just ordered a stuffed Panda from Li (this is her workshop).
Grand Pa Melville waited until the last minute, but that’s Ok.
In fact, it’s great, because now I get to go express!
That means I’ll be at Noah’s house in Indiana tomorrow—for his birthday!
While Li sews the last buttons on Panda’s vest, her assistant, Zhang, bends my flaps
into place and seals my edges with packing tape!
I was hoping to get some of that bubble wrap and a few fragile stickers, but toy pandas
aren’t breakable.
Zhang stuffs me with tissue paper and prints a shipping label on the store computer.
Then, Li finishes Panda and nestles him inside of me.
Zhang seals me tight— -affixes my new shipping labels —
looks at the clock and—
— Oh no!
Li’s regular pick-up happened an hour ago!
How will I get to Noah’s in time for his birthday?
Lots of businesses, like Li’s, have a scheduled pick up every day, when a truck stops by to
collect packages.
But Grandpa ordered Panda after Li’s pick-up had already happened!
I don’t want to miss cake and balloons; can I make it to Noah’s on time?
Li is not worried!
Li’s workshop is in Beijing, where the buses are pretty reliable.
Li tells Zhang to leave work early — just be sure to drop me at the nearest Shipping
Storefront within the next hour and we’ll make the deadline!
(It’s called shipping because, before trucks, trains, and airplanes, packages traveled by
boat.
Back then, “A Slow Boat to China” took forever but we’ll be at Noah’s tomorrow!)
At the Shipping Storefront, Li’s assistant hands me over the counter to a clerk who scans
my label with a hand-held device.
Oooooh!
That tickles!
Then he prints a receipt for Zhang.
It’s OK if Zhang loses it; my label is “in the system.”
Now, both Li, Grandpa, and even Noah’s mom can track my progress on their home or office
computers, because I’ll be scanned every step of the way.
(Tracking doesn’t hurt—I don’t even feel it!)
The guy behind the counter yells over his shoulder for the truck outside to wait and
he –
Tooosses meeeeee!..
Wheeeee!
OK, now I’m glad I’m not marked fragile!
— Okay -- the guy loading on the loading dock out back catches me.
There, the driver scans me again—ooh I like that—and loads me into the van.
Before I know it, I’m at the airport and being—yep, scanned again and—loaded into
a huge metal container called a Unit Load Device.
That’s ULD in the Shipping Biz.
Each of us boxes is a “unit.”
Together we make a “load” and this device – sometimes called a “can” or a “pod”–resembles
a giant version of me, a box, only full of shelves and usually made of metal.
Many ULD’s, like mine, have one side curved to fit the shape of a plane, because cargo
planes make it their business to use every available inch (or centimeter if that’s
how you roll) and the curved shape means there are no wasted, empty, corners.
ULD’s come in all sizes too, but a typical one is about 88 x 125 x 96 inches.
Some can fit 10,000 boxes like me!
Wow!
A crew loads my ULD onto a plane an we’re off to Alaska!
Wait!
The Package Party happens in Memphis, and Noah lives in Indiana.
Why am I going to Alaska?
Panda’s not a polar bear!
Am I on the wrong plane?
Help!
My ULD hugs me and explains that it’s OK.
Looking at a map, and seeing all that ice and tundra, a box might think Alaska is in
the middle of nowhere.
But…
If you look at a globe, you’ll see that Alaska is really in the middle of Asia and
the United States—two places that do a lot of shipping!
And, while Alaska has a relatively small population—about 740,000—the hub there is huge!
A real chubby hubby.
“Hub” means center of activity, and even though it’s dark outside—
It’s full of life inside!
Alaska’s Cargo Hub is the fifth largest cargo airport in the world and the second
largest in the United States.
(After Memphis—where we’re going to the Package Party!)
Countless packages get sorted in Alaska, but our plane is just stopping for gas.
You’re right, Bright Sider!
Lots of planes can fly straight from Beijing to Memphis, but that takes a lot of gas.
And that gas takes a lot of space.
Space that could be filled with bears in boxes.
So, cargo planes often load up with extra bears, then land in Alaska to refill their
smaller, space-saving, tanks.
Cool.
Speaking of cool…
Brrr!
Alaska is cold!
Oh wait, I’m a box.
I’m fine!
And we are off to the Package Party in Memphis!
(I’m so excited!)
Referred to as “The Big Sort,” the Package Party is a lot like a birthday party.
My label is my invitation.
Just like at a party, we all arrive at the same time.
My plane, and planes from all over the world, set down in Memphis between 10PM to 1AM.
Then, while the world sleeps, we have our party!
First, workers help all us boxes and envelopes get our party invitations—that is packing
labels— sunny-side up.
This way the light scanners can read us and tell the mechanical arms and sorters which
group we belong in.
The automated sorting system looks something like the baggage carousels you see at airports.
I get sorted into a group of packages headed to Indiana and put on a conveyor belt!
Our labels have more information than just our address, they also have our weight and
dimensions.
This is important because, just like at the amusement park for children, where some kids
are too little for the roller coaster, some envelopes are too light for the conveyor belt.
But don’t worry; the envelopes aren’t left out!
They have special rides of their own where they land in trays and end up in bags instead
of our old friend the ULD.
Meanwhile, we boxes slide around conveyor belts—
—drop through gaps into waiting bins —and even go down chutes!
Whoo!
I’m glad Zhang taped me up so well.
Good taping is like keeping your arms inside the car during a ride.
Nothing gets caught in the machinery.
Time flies when you’re having fun; Panda and I are in our new ULD and on the next plane
in under 15 minutes!
That’s not even a record!
I’m not sure if I believe the rumor Elvis Presley worked there, but it’s easy to believe
that the Memphis Distribution Center is the largest package sorting facility in the world.
It’s over 880 acres.
An aircraft lands here every 90 seconds!
And it processes about 1.5 million express packages a night!
That takes 7,000 – 10,000 employees, with or without Elvis.
In fact—from 10 PM to 4AM— The Memphis Hub is the busiest airport in the world!
The party wraps up.
Planes depart from 2AM to 4AM taking all the guests (that’s us) to our next stop.
It’s a quick flight, but I rest as hard as a box can, because in Indianapolis we “Sort”
all over again!
(After this, a few restful days in the recycling pile sounds good to me!)
At Indianapolis I get —
—Oooh that feels so good right there!
—
—Scanned again
And Noah is still asleep when I’m loaded onto my last really big truck.
It can hold 2,000 packages at once!
Then I’m off to my final distribution center.
Here, I get—Oooh, Scanned!—sorted by a much smaller crew and put into a smaller truck
with other packages.
I’m loaded next to another package headed for Noah’s!
When I ask him what he’s carrying he claims it’s a mystery, but I’m pretty sure it’s
a book.
Pulling up to Noah’s house —I smell birthday cake in the oven!
The driver whisks me and the mystery book out of the truck and carries us to Noah’s
door.
He rings the bell and
With one final scan——
I’m an Overnight Success! (singing: Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Noah!
Happy …)
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