Flow Balancing-based Empty Container Repositioning in Typical Shipping Service Routes

This article formulates the empty container repositioning problem for general shipping service routes based on container flow balancing. Two types of flow balancing mechanisms are analyzed. The first is based on point-to-point balancing, which leads to a point-to-point repositioning policy. The second is based on coordinated balancing in the whole service, which leads to a coordinated repositioning policy. A simple heuristic algorithm is presented to solve the coordinated balancing problem which aims to minimize total empty container repositioning costs. The above 2 repositioning policies are then applied to a range of shipping services, representing typical route structures in existing shipping networks. The relative performances of these 2 policies and their sensitivity to route structure and trade demand are examined in both deterministic and stochastic situations. Managerial insights are subsequently derived.

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  • Authors:
    • Song, Dong-Ping
    • Dong, Jing-Xin
  • Publication Date: 2011-3

Language

  • English

Media Info

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01333564
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Mar 21 2011 2:14PM