19/08/2026
When trucking companies are not given the go-signal to return an empty container, they are left holding equipment they do not own—and absorbing the cost.
Trailers can remain tied up for days or even weeks, resulting in lost trips, idle equipment, added yard costs, and sometimes longer return hauls.
And when the free-detention days expire despite the absence of pre-advise, the fundamental question remains: Who should bear the cost when the trucker is ready, but the system cannot receive the empty?
As we underscore, accountability should work both ways.
Read More: https://goflow.com.ph/articles/when-empty-containers-cannot-be-returned-truckers-carry-the-cost/
For a container trucker, delivering the cargo is not necessarily the end of the job. The empty container still has to be returned to a location authorized by the shipping line. But what happens when t