Recently, the shortage of containers has become a source of frustration for the logistics industry. Due to the imbalance between China and Europe trade, a large number of containers is stranded in the European ports and terminals. Both rail and ocean freight operators are facing this problem, which is predicted to last until next year. Transporting empty containers back to China at low cost and with high efficiency might be the key to alleviate the shortage of containers in China. In this case, some new technologies could be taken into consideration.