Container shortages under the covid-19 pandemic: the role of digital technologies

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed several vulnerabilities of global container shipping, with the shortage of containers being one of the most prominent. Recent studies have investigated the negative impact of the pandemic on the container shipping industry, but the issue of container shortages remains largely unaddressed. This paper examines the rationale behind container shortages under the pandemic and the potential of digital solutions. Container shortages are the outcome of four factors: enduring trade imbalances, an unexpected and rapid recovery in demand, the decline in the velocity of containers handled at terminals and in the hinterland, and limited capacity to build new containers to match the additional demand. The deployment of digital solutions, such as blockchain technology, e-bill of lading, and various digital platforms have been advocated for mitigating container shortages triggered by the pandemic. This paper analyzes the benefits and limits of these solutions and finds new prospects for the container shipping industry in the post-COVID era.