Howard Pack
Encyclopedia
Howard Meade Pack was a shipping
industry executive who served as the chairman and president of Seatrain Lines
, an innovator in the way ships carried freight.
Pack was born in Manhattan
on September 21, 1918. He attended Columbia University
, graduating in 1939 with a degree in economics in 1939. Pack went into business with his father, who was a furrier and went to work with his father. Pack served in the United States Coast Guard
during World War II
. After his military service, he came back to the family business where he met Joseph Kahn
, who also worked in the fur business.
Pack and Kahn formed Transeastern Associates in the early 1950s with the purchase of a Liberty ship
. By 1965, Transeastern controlled 36 ships, most sailing under the United States flag, including the , a 108,400-ton tanker that was then the largest craft under the US flag. Transeastern used the Manhattan as a bulk carrier
, loading it with such cargoes as 101,000 tons of wheat sent to Pakistan
.
Through Transeastern Associates, Pack and Kahn bought Seatrain Lines
in 1965 for $8.5 million. The firm, which had been established in 1931, had six ships in its fleet that it used to carry loaded railroad boxcars between ports, rather than the then-industry standard of loading cargo into the hold of ships using nets, cranes and many longshoremen. At the time of their purchase, Seatrain operated between New York and ports in Savannah, Georgia
, Texas City, Texas
, New Orleans and Puerto Rico
. Transeastern was folded into Seatrain in September 1966; At the time Seatrain had lost more than $500,000 in a for-month period before the merger, while Transeastern's fleet had netted nearly $7 million in a ten-month period. Under their management, Seatrain purchased ships that could carry shipping container
s, which could be transferred between ships and trucks or trains, making them one of the earliest in the industry to make this conversion.
Pack and Kahn expanded the business into shipbuilding, using facilities at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
. Additionally, the firm established a large international container shipping division headquartered in Weehawken, New Jersey
. By the 1970s, the firm had 4,000 employees and was earning $250 million annually, but was hurt by the 1973 oil crisis
, dockworker strikes and overbuilding in the shipping industry. By 1981, the firm was shut down.
A resident of Scarsdale, New York
, Pack died at age 90 on December 9, 2008 due to heart failure.
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
industry executive who served as the chairman and president of Seatrain Lines
Seatrain Lines
Seatrain Lines was a shipping company most responsible for the introduction of the standard international intermodal container, most commonly high by 8 feet wide by long...
, an innovator in the way ships carried freight.
Pack was born in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
on September 21, 1918. He attended Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, graduating in 1939 with a degree in economics in 1939. Pack went into business with his father, who was a furrier and went to work with his father. Pack served in the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After his military service, he came back to the family business where he met Joseph Kahn
Joseph Kahn (shipping executive)
Joseph Kahn , was a shipping industry executive who served as the chairman of Seatrain Lines, an innovator in the way ships carried freight.Kahn immigrated to the United States in 1930 from the Soviet Union...
, who also worked in the fur business.
Pack and Kahn formed Transeastern Associates in the early 1950s with the purchase of a Liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
. By 1965, Transeastern controlled 36 ships, most sailing under the United States flag, including the , a 108,400-ton tanker that was then the largest craft under the US flag. Transeastern used the Manhattan as a bulk carrier
Bulk carrier
A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...
, loading it with such cargoes as 101,000 tons of wheat sent to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Through Transeastern Associates, Pack and Kahn bought Seatrain Lines
Seatrain Lines
Seatrain Lines was a shipping company most responsible for the introduction of the standard international intermodal container, most commonly high by 8 feet wide by long...
in 1965 for $8.5 million. The firm, which had been established in 1931, had six ships in its fleet that it used to carry loaded railroad boxcars between ports, rather than the then-industry standard of loading cargo into the hold of ships using nets, cranes and many longshoremen. At the time of their purchase, Seatrain operated between New York and ports in Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, Texas City, Texas
Texas City, Texas
Texas City is a city in Chambers and Galveston counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 41,521 at the 2000 census. It is a part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, New Orleans and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. Transeastern was folded into Seatrain in September 1966; At the time Seatrain had lost more than $500,000 in a for-month period before the merger, while Transeastern's fleet had netted nearly $7 million in a ten-month period. Under their management, Seatrain purchased ships that could carry shipping container
Shipping container
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes...
s, which could be transferred between ships and trucks or trains, making them one of the earliest in the industry to make this conversion.
Pack and Kahn expanded the business into shipbuilding, using facilities at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
. Additionally, the firm established a large international container shipping division headquartered in Weehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 12,554.-Geography:Weehawken is part of the New York metropolitan area...
. By the 1970s, the firm had 4,000 employees and was earning $250 million annually, but was hurt by the 1973 oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
, dockworker strikes and overbuilding in the shipping industry. By 1981, the firm was shut down.
A resident of Scarsdale, New York
Scarsdale, New York
Scarsdale is a coterminous town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the northern suburbs of New York City. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several villages...
, Pack died at age 90 on December 9, 2008 due to heart failure.