Ireland’s shipping operators had to bring more than 57,000 empty cargo containers into the country last year as battered import levels mean there are not enough of the containers to cope with a growth in exports, reported Irish Independent.
Speaking at the launch of the Irish Marine Development Office (IMDO) annual review of the country's shipping sector, agency's director Glenn Murphy said the massive disparity of exports over imports was forcing shipping and logistics firms to import the empty containers from Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
"One impact of the change in terms of import-export ratios has been that we've had to import more empty containers to meet the export demand," he said. "That's obviously a logistical issue and a cost for the operators."
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Murphy said that 57,112 of the empty cargo containers had to be brought into Ireland in 2011, largely to cope with increased exports of drinks and fresh foods such as dairy and fish products.
That was up 20 percent on the number of empty containers that had to be imported in 2010. Murphy said that the number rose about 47 percent between 2009 and 2011.
Murphy said it is estimated that to import an empty container costs a transport operator anywhere between $395 to $659. That brings the total cost for the 57,000-plus units to between $38 million and $93 million.
Speaking at the launch of the Irish Marine Development Office (IMDO) annual review of the country's shipping sector, agency's director Glenn Murphy said the massive disparity of exports over imports was forcing shipping and logistics firms to import the empty containers from Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
"One impact of the change in terms of import-export ratios has been that we've had to import more empty containers to meet the export demand," he said. "That's obviously a logistical issue and a cost for the operators."
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Murphy said that 57,112 of the empty cargo containers had to be brought into Ireland in 2011, largely to cope with increased exports of drinks and fresh foods such as dairy and fish products.
That was up 20 percent on the number of empty containers that had to be imported in 2010. Murphy said that the number rose about 47 percent between 2009 and 2011.
Murphy said it is estimated that to import an empty container costs a transport operator anywhere between $395 to $659. That brings the total cost for the 57,000-plus units to between $38 million and $93 million.