Cost of High-Temperature Resistant Folding Containers for Ships

Why should you choose a foldable container?

But on the way back with the empty condition, the foldable container could deliver cost reduction up to 35.6% compared to the standard container. Furthermore, the longer the period of storage and transportation in empty state, the greater the benefit of the foldable container.

How will foldable containers affect exporters?

Despite the increase in operational complexity, one foreseeable impact of foldable containers is that the availability of empty containers for exporters should logically improve, since carriers would find it cheaper to rebalance stocks of foldable containers between IPI locations, as represented in Leg F of Fig. 2.

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.

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.