Source: adapted from Boile, M., Theofanis S., Golias M. and Mittal N. (2006) Empty Marine Container Management: Addressing Locally a Global Problem. TRB Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. Paper # 06-2147.

Container Repositioning using an Empty Container Depot

Among the variety of roles that an empty container depot can fulfill, the main include:

• A neutral location where empty containers owned by leasing companies as well as maritime shipping companies can be stored waiting to be reused or repositioned. It can enable an exchange market between different partners involved in supply chains.
• An extension to a maritime (or rail) terminal, often referred as a satellite terminal, that can have a greater flexibility in its access and opening hours. Particularly, a maritime terminal can have important access constraints due to local congestion at peak terminal hours. Empty containers can initially be accumulated at the empty depot and made available for export activities. Containers that need to be repositioned to the maritime terminal can be outside peak hours at a convenient time (when truck drivers are available). The depot can also act as a buffer to the maritime terminal capacity, notably because the storage of empty containers is a lower added value activity that can be perceived as a suboptimal usage of the maritime terminal's real estate assets.
• A closer location to logistics activities help reduce movements, which is particularly beneficial for a metropolitan area where maritime (or rail) terminals are in high density and congested areas. The depot enables a better response rate to the demands of freight distribution activities and can have multiplying effects if located within a logistics cluster. These effects include a more timely availability of empty containers and a better potential at cargo rotation between import and export-based firms within the cluster.