THE LOGISTICS OF EMPTY CARGO CONTAINERS IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGION : ARE CURRENT INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS PRACTICES A BARRIER TO RATIONALIZING THE REGIONAL MOVEMENT OF EMPTY CONTAINERS

This study describes existing logistics practices regarding empty containers, looking at the current logistics of empty containers related to cargo movement through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. It investigates the physical movement of empty containers, and institutional arrangements and practices. Focus is on assessing the extent to which current global logistics practices constitute a barrier to rationalizing empty container movements with the study region. The research methodology involved field surveys and interviews with local and international carriers, container leasing firms, trucking companies, intermodal transport operators, freight forwarders, and marine container logistics specialists. The study essentially concludes that carriers are willing to tolerate the regional inefficient movement of empty containers and bear repositioning costs as necessary conditions for optimizing the overall performance of their global container inventory and control operations. Optimal solutions to the rationalization of empty container movements must consider all scales of the global logistics system, and that such solutions would work to better performance at different levels of the system as well as for the overall system.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication Date: March 2003. METRANS Transportation Center, Los Angeles CA
• Corporate Authors:

  METRANS Transportation Center

  University of Southern California
  Los Angeles, CA  United States  90089-0626

  California Department of Transportation

  Division of New Technology and Research, P.O. Box 942873
  Sacramento, CA  United States  94273-0001

  Research and Special Programs Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Hanh, Le Dam
• Publication Date: 2003

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 40 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Container traffic; Container utilization; Containerization; Logistics; Trade
• Identifier Terms: Port of Long Beach; Port of Los Angeles
• Geographic Terms: Long Beach (California); Los Angeles (California)
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00962330
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/CA/OR-2003/02
• Files: CALTRANS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 2 2003 12:00AM