The Liner Shipping Hub Location Problem with Empty Container Repositioning
The cost of empty container repositioning has become an important component of the operating cost of liner shipping companies.Considering the impact of economies of scale and ship capacity on empty container repositioning,the use of foldable containers is an effective way for liner shipping companies to reduce operating costs.Combined with the characteristics of foldable containers,a class of liner shipping hub location problem with empty container repositioning was studied.Based on the conventional hub location models,several mixed integer linear programming models considering both laden and empty containers were proposed to discuss the influence of empty container repositioning and the use of foldable containers on hub port location.Numerical experiments proved the effectiveness of the proposed models.The results show that the use of foldable containers has a great impact on hub port location and feeder port allocation.In Northern Europe,Zeebrugge replaces Antwerp as a hub port,undertaking empty container transit services of most ports in the region.In Asia,the probability of Hong Kong to be a hub port is slightly reduced due to higher folding and unfolding operation cost.
hub port locationmixed integer linear programmingempty container repositioningfoldable containers
万方数据
维普
