PURPOSE: To reduce the waiting time for a stocking elevator to efficiently execute stocking work.

CONSTITUTION: When travel devices 2 to 4 return from a rack zone B1 near a home position HP to the home position HP, the returning travel devices 2 to 4 are traveled to HP independently of a next stocking work rack zone as a carriage 12 is not raised or lowered from a work level just before, and when the travel devices 2 to 4 return from a rack zone B2 far from HP to HP, and a next stocking work zone is B2, the travel devices 2 to 4 are traveled to HP as the carriage 12 is lowered to a lowering limit position (L1, L6, L11). When the following stocking work rack zone is B1, the travel devices 2 to 4 are traveled to HP as the carriage 12 is raised and lowered to a next stocking level, and a stocking elevator 5 is stopped at a position corresponding to the stop level of the carriage 12 of the returning travel devices 2 to 4 to directly transfer a load W onto the carriage 12 not through a fixed load transfering table.