Systems, methods, and devices of the various embodiments enable graph based routing of containers and adjustments of container routing based on one or more current material handling system state. The various embodiments enable examination and evaluation of the material handling systems using graphs to find an optimal route from a starting node in the material handling system to an ending node in the material handling system. In an embodiment, the graph may be a directed graph of edges and nodes of a material handling system. In an embodiment, the directed graph may include edge weights and the edge weights may be used to determine the optimal route for the container. In an embodiment, the edge weights may be updated as events occur in the material handling system which may result in dynamic routing of containers through the material handling system.