Foldable shipping containers could ease supply chain woes

Photo courtesy of Staxxon

A company called Staxxon in Montclair, New Jersey, is planning to sell a newfangled shipping container that's "designed to fold in an accordion-style fashion, and shrink to 1/5 the size of a regular container."

Why it matters: Most standard shipping containers return home empty, so if cargo ships can fit more of them on a return journey by collapsing them, it could help ease today's notorious supply chain woes.

Where it stands: Staxxon's 20-foot units are not on the market yet, but there are other foldable shipping containers out there — most notably from a Dutch company called 4Fold that says its foldable container "saves up to 37% in costs and CO₂."

The bottom line: "Despite sparking hope among carriers and shippers, higher upfront costs and hesitancy to turn to a new business model have kept foldable containers from becoming mainstream," Bloomberg writes.