Source: Theofanis, Rodrigue and Boile (2007).

Imbalances and Container Repositioning Strategies

Once unloaded, an empty container needs to be repositioned to a new location so it can be reused as a transport unit. It is very uncommon that the location where a container is unloaded is also the location where it will be reloaded, so repositioning is required. Container repositioning can take place at three major scales, depending on the nature of the container flow imbalances. Each of these scales involves specific repositioning strategies:

• Local (Empty interchange). Occurs regularly as containers are reshuffled between locations where they are emptied to those where they are filled. They are of short duration with limited use of storages facilities since containers are simply in queue at the consignee or the consigner, especially if they are managed by the same freight distributor.
• Regional (Intermodal repositioning). Involves industrial and consumption regions where there are imbalances, often the outcome of economic specialization. For instance, a metropolitan area having a marked service function may be a net importer of containers while a nearby area may have a specialization in manufacturing, implying a status of net exporter. The matter then becomes the repositioning of the surplus containers from one part of the region to the other. This may involve a longer time period, due to the scale and scope of repositioning and often requires the usage of specialized storage facilities. This scale offers opportunities for freight forwarders to establish strategies such as dedicated empty container flows and storage depots at suitable locations.
• International (Overseas repositioning). Is the outcome of systematic macro-economic imbalances between trade partners, as exemplified by China and the United States. Such a repositioning scale is obviously the most costly and time consuming as it ties up substantial storage capacity, in proportion to the trade imbalance. Significant inland freight distribution capacities are also wasted since long distance trade, especially concerning manufactured products, tend to involve a wide arrays of destinations in a national economy. This is paradoxical as maritime container shipping capacity will be readily available for global repositioning, but high inland freight transport costs could limit the amount of empty containers reaching the vicinity of a container port. It may even force an over supply of containers as the trade partner having a net deficit of containers (exporter) may find more convenient to manufacture new containers than to reposition existing units, which disrupts the container leasing market.