The companies selling container management services argue that considerable opportunities do exist. Rather than look at container flows from Asia to the USA, they are more interested in container flows in the US inland and container flows around Asia. The second problem with this solution is persuading shipping lines to work together and share information. The company is based in the USA's Silicon Valley, the worldwide centre for internet ventures. InterBox creates an online trading and auction environment.
Companies post details of containers or vessels slots they have available or require.
GreyBox opts for a more hands-on approach. It has dedicated offices in six locations around the world, with staff working full time with shipping lines to identify interchange opportunities. It also has an online bulletin board system. SCL currently performs around 50 container exchange transactions per month using the system. Clive van Onselen, container fleet co-ordinator with SCL, says that the company discussed the security issues about releasing this information to an outside party, but reached the conclusion that the volume of flows was not particularly sensitive, particularly as it could be obtained from a number of other sources, such as government cargo databases.