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Empty marine container logistics: facts, issues and management strategies

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Abstract

With the global container population exceeding 25 million TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) and the annual production of new boxes exceeding 3 million TEU it is estimated that around 1.5 million TEU of empty containers are sitting in yards and depots around the world waiting for use. Although utilization rates have improved since 2004, container utilization depends on the very dynamic nature of container transportation, and the container building and leasing industries. Owing primarily to the chronic trend of increasing trade imbalances across the oceans, and despite recent trends along some trade routes, the empty container management problem has become a major issue for the container shipping industry during the last decade. This paper examines and analyzes empty container logistics at a global, interregional, regional and local level. Special consideration is given to key factors affecting the empty container logistics management and strategies implemented by ocean carriers and other stakeholders to better manage empty containers.

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Notes

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA

    Sotirios Theofanis & Maria Boile

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  1. Sotirios Theofanis
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  2. Maria Boile
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Correspondence to Maria Boile.

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Theofanis, S., Boile, M. Empty marine container logistics: facts, issues and management strategies. GeoJournal 74, 51–65 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-008-9214-0

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