Economic Impacts of the Alternative Reuse of Empty ISO Containers

Abstract

With hundreds of thousands of ISO containers rejected from the world’s container fleet every year due to age or empty container accumulation problems, the question of their potential reuse for other purposes arises. Moreover, beside the ecological impacts the economic impacts of the different reuses are of great interest as such recycling activities may provide cost and energy saving opportunities. Next to providing some background information about containers and empty container management, this paper investigates the scale of containers that enter the secondary market, different ways in which they can be put to new use and several concepts of economic impacts resulting from the repurposing activities. Furthermore, it suggests promising research opportunities in particular with respect to the use of information systems and modern communication and information technology (IT) for planning and control of container flows and alternative reuse of containers.