When capacity tightens the first thought is buying more containers, yet part of the fleet may spend most of the day in the depot. The ratio means something only if the definition holds still: the numerator is container-hours dispatched, the denominator container-hours available for service in the defined fleet. State in the report whether containers that are broken, in washing or in repair count in the denominator.
| Indicator | How it is worked out | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Trip count | Per container per day | Whether containers sit idle |
| Fill level | Estimated percentage at departure | Whether empty volume travels |
| Time in the depot | Hours | Turnaround speed |
| Time at a customer | Days | Return discipline |
To measure, link each container's movements to its ID through scans or handover records, and note the start and end of the statuses ready, washing, repair, on route and waiting at customer. Measure busy and quiet periods separately.
If utilisation is low, the status records show why: a washing bottleneck (containers return but are not ready), a plate shortage (container ready, plates not), route planning (containers used on one round and then parked) or containers sitting at customers. In that case buying containers enlarges the bottleneck, while washing capacity, return discipline and the round plan get more work out of the same fleet. Utilisation near a hundred per cent is not good news either, because no spare is left and one damaged container disrupts a trip.
