ABSTRACT

Hinterland transportation costs constitute a significant portion of total container transport costs. However, the repositioning effects of empty containers in hinterland areas have not been studied well compared to those in maritime areas. In addition, the effects of using foldable containers have not been investigated fully at an operational level. In this study, we analyze the effects of using a restricted number of foldable containers in hinterland areas. Mathematical models were developed to minimize total costs, and various effects of using foldable containers were investigated. To evaluate the real-world situation with the models, different customer scenarios and port policies were considered. The experiment results showed that foldable containers could notably reduce total costs. They also indicated that each effect could vary significantly depending on conditions. Therefore, the trade-offs between cost savings and additional costs incurred by using foldable containers should be contemplated in order to exploit foldable containers successfully in hinterland areas.

摘要

腹地运输成本占集装箱运输总成本的很大一部分。但是，与沿海地区相比，腹地空集装箱的重新安置效果尚未得到很好的研究。另外，尚未在操作水平上充分研究使用可折叠容器的效果。在这项研究中，我们分析了在内陆地区使用数量有限的可折叠容器的影响。开发了数学模型以最大程度地降低总成本，并研究了使用可折叠容器的各种效果。为了使用模型评估现实情况，考虑了不同的客户方案和端口策略。实验结果表明，可折叠容器可以显着降低总成本。他们还指出，每种影响可能会因条件而有很大差异。因此，为了在腹地地区成功开发可折叠容器，应该考虑在成本节省和使用可折叠容器引起的额外成本之间进行权衡。