The box shuffle: lessors scramble to meet demand for containers in Asia as utilization soars. (Special report: the top 50 container lines).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

The last week in July was a busy one for John Maccarone, president and CEO of Textainer Leasing. It was also profitable. During that time, his company booked 14,690 containers in a single week, more than twice the normal number. The demand for leased containers has escalated dramatically since the end of February and the demand is almost exclusively in Asia.

Maccarone and other lessors have seen utilization rates skyrocket during the past seven months. Along with a slight improvement in the U.S. economy, the demand for containers was in part driven by expectations for a poor year in shipping. "Ocean carriers weren't expecting all the business in China, so they were …