When firms in the supply chain (i.e. the LSP, the retailer) apply only “direct interchange”, empty pallets have to be redelivered to upstream actors in the same trip. Thus, if the firm (e.g. the LSP) has not any empty pallets to be returned, goods could not be unloaded and carriers have to wait until empty pallets are available; the same could happen for the retailer when the LSP delivers goods