PURPOSE: To reduce loss time to improve the efficiency of taking in work by arranging a taking in elevator so that a load may be directly transfered onto the carriage of a travel device not through a fixed middle load transfer base.

CONSTITUTION: When travel devices 2 to 4 return from the inside of a rack zone B1 to a home position HP, they are travelled to HP without the ascent and descent of a carriage 12. When B3 returns, the carriage 12 is travelled to HP as it is raised or lowered to the next taking in work level only when the next taking in work rack zone is B1, and when the next taking in rack zone is B3, the carriage 12 is travelled to HP as it is lowered to the lowering limit on the lower side of the ascent and descent zone h1, and when the next taking in work rack zone is within B2, the carriage 12 is travelled to HP as it is raised and lowered to the lowering limit of the ascent and descent zone h1 or h2 to which the next taking in destination belongs. When the travel devices 2 to 4 return from the inside of B2, the carriage is lowered to the lowering limit of h2 or h1, and a taking in elevator 5 directly takes in and transfers a load W onto the carriage 12 of returning travel devices 2 to 4 not through a fixed load transfer base.