Japan's sharp economic boom changed the way many of its markets worked, including the Port of Yokohama. The Port until 1967 handled all cargo in separate units. Each ship had to be individually loaded and unloaded, an effort that took a great amount of time and manpower. The introduction of container freight (large, steel, shipping boxes) and then gantry cranes, saw a vast improvement in the safety, security, and efficiency of transporting and handling cargo. Product recipients no longer had to deal with sorting and ships were not burdened with bearing their loads after long sea voyages. After becoming a player in the international shipping community, containers quickly became widely used and eventually became the exclusive cargo carrying methods world wide. This, as expected, had a pronounced effect on ship design and the Port of Yokohama. Historically, the Port only catered to "conventional" freight. These facilities were vastly inefficient for container ships. In order to accommodate the future age of shipping, new container terminals had to be quickly constructed. A plan to build a berth to handle container freight was put into action. Both Honomoku and Daikoku Piers were constructed and installed with various facilities, including gantry cranes and a container handling facility. In 1991, to accommodate of the increasing number of containers, Minami-Honmoku Pier was constructed.
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