The Logistics of how to deal with empty containers

IOW they they carry loaded containers from China to USWC and leave it to others to carry the empty ones back. Smart!!!

With premium cargo from USWC to Hawaii and Guam and military cargo to Okinawa as the main load back, I can see how this can be profitable. As long as they have Jones Act protection against competition,that is.

BTW; Who carry The empties back from Okinawa, Guam and Hawaii??

  1. I would assume the empties are filled with cargo and picked up a week (or weeks) later by the next ship in the liner service.

  2. The premium rate (as I understand it) is from China to Long Beach not USWC to Hawaii due to the reasons previously mentioned.

  3. Indeed. Thatā€™s the Jones Act doing precisely what it is designed to do. That is to ensure there are American shipyards in business to build American flag ships and maintain jobs for American seafarers. Quite frankly I could give two shits whether you or any of your globalist brethren like it or not. Additionally, no amount of snide, sarcastic, nose in the air comments about how we Americans are racist xenophobic heathens for not welcoming the hoards of 3rd world villagers to come take our jobs is going to change my outlook on it.

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There are a lot of empty containers being shipped out of USWC ports to China:

With the ban on waste material import in China there will be even more empties:
https://www.lloydsloadinglist.com/freight-directory/news/Chinaā€™s-waste-import-changes-impacting-freight-sector/71059.htm
Now abt. half of the returning containers will be empties.

I do not know what agreement if any Matson has with their shippers in China. If it is anything like the one Horizon (at one time) had with Maersk that would be ideal. In that arrangement Maersk basically booked the ship from China (Hong Kong & Kaohsiung) to the USWC. Horizon was allowed to use those now empty boxes (as well as their own) for use in the Hawaii/Guam trade. The intent would be for the Maersk empties to work their way back to the Far East. Again I do not know what arrangements Matson has with their China cargo shippers but I would be surprised if there wasnā€™t some sort of arrangement. Of course if Matson has their own boxes positioned in China, I would assume shippers would use them and the whole question is mute, logistically speaking.

As a side note; with respect to US originating cargo to Guam. The requirement is for the ships have to be US Flag, they donā€™t have to be US built.

The US needs a simple rule. No outbound shipment of empty containers allowed. If you ship a container in full imports, you must ship it back out full of exports. Otherwise, the empty container must stay in the US.

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Unless you pay for the containers, wouldnā€™t that be call theft??

BTW; Maybe they can be used to build the wall??

Sure hope so, especially if they were built in China. But there would be a cost of crushing them and removing all the hazardous materials. Hopefully we will bill the cost of said wall by a tax on paychecks going back to Mexico and, billing China for the hazardous materials they export.

Maybe Norway can offer a good plan to store said waste in your glaciers.

All you obviously donā€™t know about shipping container:
http://www.budgetshippingcontainers.co.uk/info/how-many-shipping-containers-are-there-in-the-world/

Storing waste in glaciers?? What would we do with the all the ice that had to be removed?
There is a limit to how much overpriced ā€œ10000 year old iceā€ that can be sold to gullible Americans to chill their Martinis and Manhattans.

PS> The Chinese wouldnā€™t mind if you crushed every container that arrive in the US. They would just produce more and sell them to American Container Leashing companies like this:
https://www.capps.com/leasing

How is the problem with repositioning empty containers done eleswhere in the world?
Well, here is one solution:

I would like to see one way containers with the $2500 cost of a container added to the $2500 shipping cost, in effect doubling shipping rates to $5000 on each imported container from China.

That would help to level the playing field and make US exports and US shipping more competitive.

I donā€™t care if the critters that shop at Walmart have to pay a little more for their rubber dog shit and other plastic crap made in China.

Of course the clever Chinese would just start importing US grain, wood chips, or some other low value commodity in containers to get their containers back to China.

Everyone else in the world uses non-tariff barriers to imports, so should the US

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Donā€™t forget all the other stuff made in China, such as Computers, TVs, Ipads and Caterpillar engines, not to mention solar panels and washing machines.

No they would not. They have already been paid for the containers and can make more to satisfy demand. The Shipping and container leasing companies are the ones that want to reuse the containers to get the most out of their investments.

Grain, wood chips and other cheap commodities are not exactly exclusive US products, they can be had from other sources.

Yes they do, especially as retaliatory means, or to ensure that inferiour and dangerous waste materials, such as dirty plastic, paper and electronics are not dumped in their country.

you sir are a true genius! Iā€™ll be investing in used containers from here on outā€¦

and inside the containers we use to build the wall can be all our nasty garbageā€¦if the Mexicans want it, they can have it

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We are getting off topic but donā€™t forgot all about the crap they export just because they are starting tighten restrictions of imported waste. Sure they export a lot good products but they also export tons of crap. Lack of oversight on the importer (U.S., etc.) plays are part too.

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We need a wall. $25 billion is cheap compared to the cost of another 25 million illegals over the next 25 years.

However, $25 billion for 1000 miles of Wall is a cost of $25 million per mile.

132 containers per mile (40 footers) x 5 high (40 feet) = 660 containers per mile of 40ā€™ Wall. 660 x $3000 each = $1.98 million per mile. Thatā€™s roughly $2 billion for 1000 miles of Wall. Another $6 billion to install the containers (assuming no cost prohibitive American longshoremen labor).

Assume the first container would be buried in a trench, so weā€™d have a 32 foot wall 1000 miles long for only $8 billion.

Iā€™m going to tweet Trump and tell him to hire Ombugge to ā€œgit ā€˜er done.ā€

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Just think of the advertising that could be done on all of those containers!

This sounds like a plan, now I need to look into buying stock in companies that deal in used boxes.

Donā€™t forget to remind him of my 1.5% fee for the idea.

Lots of US products and produce are banned in other countries because of your lax safety rules.
It is one of the main obstacles to making a trade deal with the EU, among others.

Any place that has a problem with people climbing over, just make the Wall a couple of container higher. Any place that has a problem with peopl cutting through, just fill them with crushed rock, scrap steel, and/or concrete.

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Put Solar Cells on top of the container stack (Imported from Mexico. The duty collected on those will be so high that it can pay for the wall. Bingo!!!)

Install a HW electric grid on the containers that is activated on touch, with large warning signs to deterre anybody from even getting close to the wall.

Supply the rest of the power generated to the grid at going rates and the entire project become self-financing, with a hefty profit for the Owner (Trump).
(Minus my 1.5% cut of course)

See Post #8