One European port is tackling the current shortage of empty containers by launching an ‘Empty Container Initiative’ campaign to enable customers to keep trade flowing.

To maintain the supply of empty containers for Swedish export customers, the Port of Gothenburg community, including Railport partners, is now offering special conditions. The possibilities vary depending on the prerequisites of the partner involved, but could include services like storage, inspections, and handling of empty containers.

Jacob Minnhagen, senior market development manager at Gothenburg Port Authority, said: “This is a unique measure that we have been able to put together very quickly, within the last couple of days. We have had an amazing response from the involved partners, and we are delighted that they are able to act swiftly, firmly and in a collaborative fashion.”

The campaign will support container storage during the holiday season and through January.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Port of Gothenburg, along with its Railport partners, successfully offered inland storage of imported goods to mitigate a temporary supply/demand imbalance.

With more than 50% of the total Swedish container traffic, the container balance at the Port of Gothenburg is almost 50-50 between import and export. This also brings fast container turnaround times.
Source: Port Strategy