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| A researcher at the Korea Railroad Research Institute folds a foldable container developed by the institute. The container is expected to reduce shipping cost by reducing logistics inefficiencies. / Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport |
By Yoon Ja-young
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Friday that the country successfully developed foldable containers that can notably decrease shipping costs.
Freight transport using containers greatly improved logistics efficiency, but there was still a problem. As there is mismatch between places where containers should be loaded and unloaded, some containers cannot avoid traveling empty. Among 160 million TEU of annual global container transport, around 25 percent are traveling empty.
This imbalance in container trade led to the problem of repositioning the containers, which costs around $6.7 billion (8 trillion won) annually globally and 400 billion won in Korea.
There have been efforts in countries such as the United States and the Netherlands to develop foldable containers to reduce transport costs when traveling empty. However, they didn't make much progress due to problems such as the folding area of the container becoming weak and the considerable time and cost needed in the process.
The folding container developed by the Korea Railroad Research Institute, meanwhile, maintains the strength of standard containers even in the folding area of the container, according to the institute. It can be folded by two people within 10 minutes to become a quarter the size of a standard container, while previously developed technology required five or six people.
"When commercialized, it is expected to reduce around 300 billion won in container freight costs in Korea alone, and up to 6 trillion won globally," the ministry explained.
The ministry added that it will support follow-up research and development until it succeeds in commercialization, which is expected in 2021.
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