Empty Equipment Logistics and Empty Container Repositioning (ECR)

This chapter first provides a general discussion of empty equipment logistics including empty freight vehicle redistribution, empty passenger vehicle redistribution, empty bike repositioning, empty container chassis repositioning, and empty container repositioning problems. Secondly, the scale and importance of ECR in the global context are explained, and the main factors that affect ECR are discussed. Thirdly, the similarity and unique characteristics of ECR compared to other empty equipment repositioning problems are explained. Fourthly, the modeling techniques for ECR and the scope of the book are described. In this book, we mainly take the inventory control perspective to address the ECR logistics in regional transportation systems by explicitly considering the features such as demand imbalance over space, dynamic operations over time, uncertainty, and leasing activity. Finally, the structure of the book is described.