Robust Scheduling of Truck Arrivals at Marine Container Terminals
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 8
Abstract
The use of a truck appointment system is gaining momentum in the marine container industry. It is used to regulate the number of trucks that can enter the terminal. Terminals employing appointment systems put a cap on the number of trucks that can enter a zone in the yard per time window. Limiting truck arrivals can be beneficial to some extent; however, if the caps are not set properly, it could be detrimental to both the terminal and the truckers. This paper examines the effect of limiting truck arrivals on truck turn time and crane utilization. In addition, it proposes a methodology to assist terminal operators with determining the optimal number of trucks to accept for the appointment system to be effective. The proposed methodology, which is a combination of mathematical formulation and simulation, seeks a solution that is beneficial for both the terminal operator and the trucker. Furthermore, the solution is robust to account for truckers with appointments showing up late or not showing up at all.
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Acknowledgments
The work described in this paper is part of Project No. 167830 sponsored by the Southwest University Transportation Center. It has benefited considerably from discussions with Jimmy Jamison and Jeff Davis from the Barbours Cut Container Terminal. The writers also thank Jon Hallin from Yusen Terminal Inc., Walter Barelka from the Port of Savannah, Steve Longbotham from the Marine Terminals Corporation, and Chuck Schneider from the Embarcadero Systems Corporation for their input on truck appointment systems. Finally the writers also thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions for improving this paper. The results and opinions expressed in this paper are solely those of the writers.
References
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 8 • August 2008
Pages: 347 - 353
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 20, 2007
Accepted: Nov 19, 2007
Published online: Aug 1, 2008
Published in print: Aug 2008
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