Container terminal operations and operations research: a classification and literature review Dirk Steenken, Stefan Voß, and Robert Stahlbock Abstract: Over the past four decades, containers have become essential in international sea freight transportation. With increasing containerization, the number of container terminals and competition among them have grown significantly. Effective use of information technology and appropriate optimization methods are now essential for terminal operations. This paper describes and classifies the main logistics processes and operations in container terminals and presents a survey of methods for their optimization. Keywords: Container terminal – Logistics – Planning – Optimization – Heuristics – Simulation ## 1 Introduction/historical overview Containers were introduced for international sea freight transport about 50 years ago. They are well accepted and continue to gain acceptance due to their role in the unit-load concept. Containers are uniform boxes that do not require unpacking at each transfer point. They are designed for easy and fast handling of freight. Standardization of metal boxes provides many advantages for customers, including protection against weather and pilferage, and improved scheduling and control. Operations can refer to a container (a box) or a specific type of container. The most common distinction is between standard containers, which are 20 feet long, and other containers measured in twenty feet equivalent units (TEU). Additional properties of containers may be specified when appropriate. Regular sea container service began around 1961 with an international service between the US East Coast and points in the Caribbean, Central and South America. The breakthrough came with large investments in specially designed ships, adapted seaport terminals, and availability of containers. A large number of container transshipments led to economic efficiency and a rapidly growing market share. Transshipment refers to the transfer or change from one conveyance to another with temporary storage on the container yard. Today, over 60% of the world's deep-sea general cargo is transported in containers, with some routes being fully containerized. In 1995, 9.2 million TEU were in circulation, and the container fleet had almost doubled in ten years. Figure 1 shows the container turnover for the ten largest seaport terminals in the world from 1993 to 2002.Container terminal operations and operations research: a classification and literature review Dirk Steenken, Stefan Voß, and Robert Stahlbock Abstract: Over the past four decades, containers have become essential in international sea freight transportation. With increasing containerization, the number of container terminals and competition among them have grown significantly. Effective use of information technology and appropriate optimization methods are now essential for terminal operations. This paper describes and classifies the main logistics processes and operations in container terminals and presents a survey of methods for their optimization. Keywords: Container terminal – Logistics – Planning – Optimization – Heuristics – Simulation ## 1 Introduction/historical overview Containers were introduced for international sea freight transport about 50 years ago. They are well accepted and continue to gain acceptance due to their role in the unit-load concept. Containers are uniform boxes that do not require unpacking at each transfer point. They are designed for easy and fast handling of freight. Standardization of metal boxes provides many advantages for customers, including protection against weather and pilferage, and improved scheduling and control. Operations can refer to a container (a box) or a specific type of container. The most common distinction is between standard containers, which are 20 feet long, and other containers measured in twenty feet equivalent units (TEU). Additional properties of containers may be specified when appropriate. Regular sea container service began around 1961 with an international service between the US East Coast and points in the Caribbean, Central and South America. The breakthrough came with large investments in specially designed ships, adapted seaport terminals, and availability of containers. A large number of container transshipments led to economic efficiency and a rapidly growing market share. Transshipment refers to the transfer or change from one conveyance to another with temporary storage on the container yard. Today, over 60% of the world's deep-sea general cargo is transported in containers, with some routes being fully containerized. In 1995, 9.2 million TEU were in circulation, and the container fleet had almost doubled in ten years. Figure 1 shows the container turnover for the ten largest seaport terminals in the world from 1993 to 2002.