Who Owns the Box? Who Builds the Way Out?

Why the empty container crisis needs depots, rails, and barges, not just rules.

In the first week of October, customs brokers staged a digital protest, holding back gate passes and terminal bookings, while five truckers’ groups declared a trucking holiday. Their first grievance was the same one heard in 2019, again during the pandemic, and again this February: there is nowhere to return the empty boxes. Earlier this year, yard utilization at the Manila International Container Port and Manila South Harbor breached 100%.

In my last column, I argued that the proposed Joint Administrative Order (JAO) is the unified mandate that old customs orders never were. As of this writing, the Department of Finance has signed it, and the other agencies are finalizing their comments. That is progress. But we should be clear about what a JAO can and cannot do. It can regulate how shipping lines charge, allocate space, and retrieve their equipment. It cannot pour concrete, lay rail, or change where our cargo goes. At its root, the empty-container problem is one of physical capacity and flow, and it demands long-term, government-led infrastructure.

This story was originally published by PortCalls Asia. Read the full story at PortCalls Asia →