[makmanalp]

Eh, I'm not sure. Even with completely local production (if that miracle ever happens), you still need raw materials, and moving a lot at once is very cost effective. Just like trains beat busses beat cars on total cost per unit moved.

Maersk's (and other similar companies') big idea was that if you put things in regularly sized containers, you can a) Calculate space very easily and use space efficiently b) Not worry about packing things at the dock and let the customer best pack the thing as opposed to you wasting time on it c) Use the same container to move the goods across ground too d)Reuse the container. So this was kinda IKEA flat packing before IKEA existed.

It really is hard to beat the economies of scale here - even the largest cargo planes move laughably small amounts compared to these things. Drones? No way.

Drone, I think, could disrupt something else, which is house delivery. Small weight, short distance. That's what it'd be good at.