In response to a shortage of containers for export cargo, the Swedish seaport has brought together a number of organizations to remedy the situation.

The campaign is aimed at supporting container storage during the December-January holiday season. To maintain the supply of empty containers for Swedish export customers, the Port of Gothenburg community, including the Railport Scandinavia partners, is now offering special conditions; the possibilities vary depending on the prerequisites of the partner involved, but may 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," Jacob Minnhagen, Senior Market Development Manager, the Gothenburg Port Authority (GPA), commented.

GPA also said in a press release, against the background that the country's exports are on the rise, "[…] the container balance at the Port of Gothenburg is almost 50-50 between import and export. This fact also brings 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."

The following parties have to date subscribed to the Empty Container Initiative: Gothenburg RoRo Terminal (Gothenburg), Jula Logistics AB (Falköping), Logent (Gothenburg & Hallsberg), Lundby Container Service (Gothenburg), M4 (Eskilstuna), Medlog Gothenburg AB (Gothenburg), M.C.R. - Mobile Container Repair AB (Gothenburg), PGF AB (Vaggeryd), TRANSAB (Nässjö), and Vänerexpressen AB (Insjön/Karlstad).

Photo: Port of Gothenburg