Examining Container Port Resources and Environments to Enhance Competitiveness: A Cross-Country Study from Resource-Based and Institutional Perspectives1

AbstractThis study aims to analyze the competitiveness of container ports using a cross-country analysis with theoretical foundations. Tangible and intangible resources are discussed as determinants of container port competitiveness using the resource-based view and the institutional theory. This study analyzes the relationships among six variables: container port competitiveness, traffic volume, quality of infrastructure, linear shipping connectivity, operating efficiency, and institutional influence. This study retrieved country-level data on different indicators and countries from several trade and maritime databases. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used to test various hypotheses and to evaluate the casual relationships among six variables. Additionally, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression is used to test the moderating effects of institutional influence

An Interactive Simulation Model for the Logistics Planning of Container Operations in Seaports

Simulation665291-300SIMU

Efficient yard storage in transshipment container hub ports

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Integrated vehicle dispatching for container terminal

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Analysis of marine container terminal gate congestion, truck waiting cost, and system optimization

As world container volume continues to grow and the introduction of 12,000 TEUs plus containerships into major trade routes, the port industry is under pressure to deal with the ever increasing freight volume. Gate congestion at marine container terminal is considered a major issue facing truckers who come to the terminal for container pickup and delivery. Harbor truckers operate in a very competitive environment; they are paid by trip, not by the hours they drive. Gate congestion is not only detrimental to their economic well-being, but also causes environmental pollution. This thesis applies a multi-server queuing model to analyze marine terminal gate congestion and quantify truck waiting cost. In addition, an optimization model is developed to minimize gate system cost. Extensive data collection includes field observations and online camera observation and terminal day-to-day operation records. Comprehensive data analysis provides a solid foundation to support the development of the optimization model. The queuing analysis indicates that there is a substantial truck waiting cost incurred during peak season. Three optimization alternatives are explored. The results prove that optimization by appointment is the most effective way to reduce gate congestion and improve system efficiency. Lastly, it is the recommendation to use the combination of optimization by appointment and productivity improvement to mitigate terminal gate congestion and accommodate the ever growing container volume

Design and analysis of a multi-trailer system for the Durban container terminal.

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2018.Multi-trailer systems (MTS) allow for the transportation of multiple shipping containers in a single movement as opposed to the conventional trailer systems often used within a port terminal environment. The adoption of MTSs creates an opportunity for container terminal operators to reduce the operational costs associated with container movements between the container vessel and stacking areas during the vessel loading and unloading operations while maintaining, and in certain cases improving, the port’s quayside productivity. A reduction in operational costs can potentially result in lower tariffs levied to container vessel operators, improving the competitiveness of a port. While MTSs have been in existence for many years and have been successfully implemented in many international port container terminals, the influence of this type of trailer on the operational costs of the waterside horizontal-transport system and on the quayside productivity within South African ports has not been investigated or demonstrated to date. This study set out to determine the influence which an indigenously designed MTS has on the abovementioned factors at South Africa’s largest container port, the Durban Container Terminal. Discrete event simulations were used to benchmark the current performance of the container movement operations at Pier One of the Durban Container Terminal using the existing tractor-trailer units (TTUs). The performance of the operations was then analysed for the scenario of replacing the TTUs with MTSs that have twice the container carrying capacity. The results showed that nine MTSs can replace the existing fleet of fifteen TTUs without compromising on the quayside performance for the vessel unloading operations, which leads to a 25% reduction in operational costs. A reduction in labour costs accounts for 88% of the saving. Use of MTSs for the vessel loading operations showed minimal benefit and the performance using the existing TTUs for this operation can be considered equivalent. The results imply that an MTS configuration with the ability to uncouple the individual trailers in the set for use as TTUs was required. This lead to the selection of a semi-trailer lead MTS configuration incorporating the use of a converter dolly for the indigenous design conducted here. The indigenous MTS design consisted of two identical semi-trailers connected using a converter dolly, allowing for interchangeability in the MTS set and for use of the semi-trailers as TTUs. The terminal’s existing semi-trailers could have been used with the converter dolly designed in this study for the MTS, however an improved semi-trailer design with regards to mass, cost and manoeuvrability has been provided. The new semi-trailer design was shown to have a 21.4% lower tare mass and a 14.1% lower product manufacturing cost over the existing design. For the MTS configuration, up to an 11.6% improvement in manoeuvrability is expected when using the newly designed semi-trailer