Maritime transportation, which accounts for about 80% of world merchandise trade by volume, is the backbone of international trade (UNCTAD, 2012). An ever-expanding share of this import and export volume is moved using containerized shipping which was designed to improve transportation productivity and reduce the incidence of damage associated with loading and unloading cargo (Francesco et al., 2013; Sheu and Talley, 2011). Due, in part, to the efficiencies generated through the use of container boxes global seaborne trade has grown steadily and reached a record high of 8.7 billion tons in 2011 (UNCTAD, 2012). Trade volume, however, is not balanced. In the Trans-Pacific trade, for instance, the container flow from Asia to North America is much higher than that from North America to Asia. As a result, some ports accumulate empty containers while others encounter a container shortage problem (Francesco et al., 2013).
Maritime transportation, which accounts for about 80% of world merchandise trade by volume, is the backbone of international trade (UNCTAD, 2012). An ever-expanding share of this import and export volume is moved using containerized shipping which was designed to improve transportation productivity and reduce the incidence of damage associated with loading and unloading cargo (Francesco et al., 2013; Sheu and Talley, 2011). Due, in part, to the efficiencies generated through the use of container boxes global seaborne trade has grown steadily and reached a record high of 8.7 billion tons in 2011 (UNCTAD, 2012). Trade volume, however, is not balanced. In the Trans-Pacific trade, for instance, the container flow from Asia to North America is much higher than that from North America to Asia. As a result, some ports accumulate empty containers while others encounter a container shortage problem (Francesco et al., 2013).
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