Optimizing Empty Container Allocation Based on Hybrid Genetic Algorithm

Optimizing empty container allocation is becoming a hot issue in shipping transportation. According to the characteristics of shipping container transport, aiming at solving effectively shipping empty container allocation optimization, this paper proposed a novel hybrid genetic algorithm. At first the shipping container allocation model is established, seeking the minimization of the total cost for empty containers in a certain time. Then, an integer code hybrid genetic algorithm combining with the Steepest Descent Method is proposed to solve the optimal problem. Finally, the simulation results show that the improved hybrid genetic algorithm more effectively finds the global optimal solution than the conventional genetic algorithm. The method is capable of resolving the problem and has good performance to find the best container allocation strategy.