Port of Gothenburg launches ‘Empty Container Initiative’ campaign

The coronavirus pandemic keeps affecting the world and global trade. Right now, Port of Gothenburg customers are experiencing a sudden deficit of empty containers for export cargo, while at the same time Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) account that Swedish export is booming.

Multiple players in the Port of Gothenburg community are now joining forces in a unique measure to foster the availability of empty containers for the Swedish export industry. Photo: Gothenburg Port Authority.

To mitigate the deficit, the Port of Gothenburg community is launching an ‘Empty Container Initiative’ campaign, aimed to support container storage during the holiday seasons, from today lasting through January.

With more than 50 per cent of the total Swedish container traffic, the container balance at The Port of Gothenburg is reportedly almost 50-50 between import and export. This results in fast container turnaround times. 

But things move quickly in the face of the pandemic – the degree of changes and unpredictability are creating disruptions and imbalances in the transport system that require speedy solutions.

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

“We were able to act quickly to help Swedish industry averting the acute effects of that situation which was very appreciated. Right now, our export customers are experiencing a deficit of empty containers for their export cargo,” said Jacob Minnhagen Senior Market Development Manager at the Gothenburg Port Authority.

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.

“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,” said Jacob Minnhagen.

The following companies are participating in the campaign:
Gothenburg Roro Terminal (Gothenburg)
Jula Logistics AB (Falköping)
Logent (Gothenburg)
Logent (Hallsberg)
Lundby Container Service (Gothenburg)
M4 (Eskilstuna)
Medlog Gothenburg AB (Gothenburg)
M.C.R. – Mobile Container Repair AB (Gothenburg)
PGF AB (Vaggeryd)
TRANSAB (Nässjö)
Vänerexpressen AB (Insjön/Karlstad)