Research station uses 120-foot folding container from Libya

Are foldable containers effective in repositioning empty containers?

Foldable containers are considered an effective solution to deal with the endemic imbalance in the repositioning of empty containers. Several foldable containers were commercialized without clear breakthrough in the market and most current researches are still limited to small pilot projects.

What are the conditions for the success of foldable containers?

Konings and Thijs summarized clearly the conditions for the success of foldable containers in the market: (1) low costs for folding and unfolding the containers; (2) low manufacturing costs; (3) compatibility with existing equipment for intermodal transport; and (4) structural robustness.

How can a foldable container reduce the cost of storage?

The satisfaction of such conditions and the eventual adoption of the foldable container by the market would reduce the operation costs by 50% to 60% , the storage space in yard and depot by 80% and CO 2 emissions by 20% [8, 12].

Why are foldable containers so controversial?

One main reason for this controversy is the high purchase cost of the foldable container. The current purchase cost of the developed foldable container is currently set to US$ 20,000 but will be lowered to US$ 10,000 in case of mass production, which is still significantly higher than the purchase price of US$ 5,000 of a standard 40-foot container.