Your 40-foot High Cube is sitting at a terminal in Vladivostok, Novorossiysk, or at a warehouse somewhere in Europe. There's no export cargo coming out of the region, and every idle day generates storage charges and detention fees. That container has turned into a liability, burning through your margin.
In logistics, this scenario is addressed through container evacuation (also called repositioning or empty container relocation). It's the forced movement of an empty container to a location where there's actual demand for it. And here lies the industry's biggest pain point: if you try to arrange this on your own at standard rates, you'll end up paying two to three times the fair market price.
Let's break down why that happens, where to find hidden repo rates, and how the MyWay–MyContainers partnership solves the problem of costly idle time for shipping containers.
What Is Container Repositioning and Why do shipping containers get delayed?
Repositioning (evacuation) is a logistics operation that moves empty equipment from a surplus zone — where there's too much of it and no demand — to a deficit zone.
Why do businesses face the need for evacuation?
We identify three primary reasons behind the need for container evacuation (repositioning):
Trade flow imbalance. You've delivered an import shipment to a regional hub — say, Yekaterinburg or Kazan — cleared customs, and unloaded the cargo. But there's simply no export volume originating from that city. The container needs to be moved back to a port or to Moscow, where it can be picked up for the next loading.
Contract cancellation or force majeure. The consignee went bankrupt, customs placed a hold on the shipment, or the shipper's factory failed to produce the goods. The box arrived, but there's nothing to stuff into it.
Fleet planning errors. Seasonal demand dropped in a particular region, and your own fleet (SOC containers) ended up in the wrong place — far from where it generates revenue.
The Math Behind Downtime: Why Evacuation Is Cheaper Than You Think
Many container owners (SOC) or charterers hold out until the last minute, hoping to find cargo "at any rate." Let's crunch the real numbers on 30 days of idle time in a low-demand region:
Detention/Demurrage: $30 to $60 per day (depending on the carrier) = $900–$1,800.
Opportunity cost: That same $1,800 could have been earned if the container were already positioned for loading at a port of origin.
Cost of a well-planned repositioning (at repo rates) often runs about the same — $1,000–$1,500 — but it zeroes out penalties and puts the equipment back into revenue-generating rotation.
Evacuation isn't an expense. It's a way to stop the financial bleeding.
The Trap of Going It Alone: Why Standard Rates Don't Work
When a typical shipper reaches out to a shipping line agent or a freight forwarder and says, "I need to move an empty 40-foot container from Point A to Point B," they hit a wall.
Carriers don't like shipping air. To them, empty equipment represents lost revenue. That's why public rate sheets and standard tariffs carry punitive or prohibitive pricing. You end up paying the full loaded-container rate to move an empty box. For your margin, that's financial suicide.
In reality, shipping lines and major lessors desperately need to bring their containers back to loading ports — from Russia's inland regions back to China, or from Europe to Asia. That's exactly what hidden repo rates (repo rates / backhaul rates) are for: preferential tariffs designed specifically for repositioning. But these rates aren't published on carrier websites. Only major players with global contracts have access to them.
How MyContainers Solve the Evacuation Problem
This is where the partnership with MyContainers — a global container equipment management platform — comes into play. We don't just "look for an available vessel or rail flatcar." We work with the shipping lines' own need to rebalance their fleets.
What this means for you in practice:
Access to closed repo rates. Through our integration with global carrier pools, we secure container repositioning rates that are 30–50% lower than the punitive "standard" market prices.
Global deficit matching. If your box is stranded, we find a carrier that urgently needs exactly that type of container in exactly that region. We effectively turn your problem into a solution for their operational challenges.
Multimodal flexibility. We don't just quote ocean freight. We build optimal routing chains: truck drayage to a rail terminal, short-sea cabotage (e.g., along the coast), or direct rail routes — whatever minimizes the haulage leg.
Full operational offloading. Empty Bill of Lading documentation, depot coordination, release note procurement, and all the terminal bureaucracy — MyContainers handles it all.
The Container Evacuation Process: How We Work
Situation audit. You provide us with the container number and its current location. We verify its status, check for a valid CSC plate, and review any detention charges currently accruing.
Finding the optimal hub. We don't always send the container back where it came from. We analyze the MyContainers deficit map and identify the nearest port or terminal where a carrier is willing to accept the unit at minimal or zero surcharge.
Rate confirmation and logistics. We lock in a multimodal route (truck + rail + ocean) with the carrier, issue an empty Bill of Lading, and submit the booking for a vessel or rail platform.
Tracking and closure. We monitor the container in transit, confirm its return to the destination depot, and provide you with a final report confirming that all penalty charges have been stopped.
*The information on this page does not constitute a public offer.
*MyContainers is a partner of MyWay.