How goods travel around the world

Almost everything you own started somewhere else and had to travel to reach you. A factory packs the goods into boxes and containers, then a ship carries huge loads across the ocean, a train hauls heavy loads over land, and a plane flies things that need to arrive quickly. At the end of every journey a truck takes the boxes from a warehouse to the shops and houses in your town. Each kind of transport is chosen for a reason: ships carry the most, trains cross land cheaply, planes are the fastest, and trucks are the only ones that can stop at your door.

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Examples

The bananas in your kitchen grew in a hot country far away, crossed the sea in a ship, and finished the trip in a truck that parked outside the supermarket.
When someone orders you a present online, it leaves a big warehouse, sometimes flies on a plane, and then a delivery van brings it to your street.

Key takeaways

Goods usually change vehicle several times between the factory and the shop.
Ships carry the most, planes are the fastest, and a truck does the last part of almost every trip.