A street turn is reusing a just-emptied import container directly for a nearby export load, instead of returning the empty to a depot and collecting a different empty for the export. It needs the carrier’s approval and saves two depot trips, fuel, and detention days.
The prize is obvious once drawn on a map: import empty at a warehouse, export cargo down the road, same box type, same carrier. Approval hinges on the carrier’s equipment plans: box condition, type match, and whether the carrier wants that empty repositioned elsewhere.
Digital matching platforms and carrier programmes have made street turns more attainable, but the operational window is short: the match must be found while the empty is still on the chassis and within free time.
Timing a street turn is a tracking exercise: the import’s gate-out and unload progress define when the box frees up, and the export booking’s cut-offs define the deadline it must meet. In TrackingMCP the reused box simply shows its next gate-in under the export booking instead of an empty return, closing both moves in one arc.
A street turn is reusing a just-emptied import container directly for a nearby export load, instead of returning the empty to a depot and collecting a different empty for the export. It needs the carrier’s approval and saves two depot trips, fuel, and detention days.
Because the empty is needed elsewhere in its repositioning plan, the box type or condition does not fit the export, or the paperwork risk outweighs the saving. Approval is per container, not a standing right.
Everyone in the triangle: the trucker saves two trips, the importer stops detention sooner, the exporter gets equipment without a depot pull, and the carrier saves a repositioning move.
Track import-to-export turns →
Detention clocks by carrier →
More in Inland moves & equipment: Drayage · Chassis · Rail ramp · Inland container depot (ICD) · Pre-carriage & on-carriage · Multimodal vs intermodal · Carrier haulage vs merchant haulage · Reefer (refrigerated container) · High-cube container · Flat rack container · Out of gauge (OOG) · SOC vs COC containers · Tare weight · Seal number · Browse all 106 terms →