Shipping Empty Containers Allocation Cost Optimization

As the development of world economy and international trade in recent decades, container transport gets the opportunity to grow rapidly, and has become an important symbol of modern transportation. Container liner shipping has become a stable and standardized major mode of sea transport, due to the tireless work of maritime industry Practitioners in many years. On the one hand, container liner reflects the significant economies of scale, so cost control is the key for shipping companies to operate shipping line. On the other hand, for the reasons such as uneven development of international trade in different regions, container demand and supply have huge geographical imbalances, and empty container allocation problem comes. According to related statistics, container management cost is a large cost in the total cost of shipping line operating, and more than half of container management fee is resulted from empty container distribution problem which is related to the reposition expenses and leasing cost. In summary, the optimization of empty container distribution system and reduce transportation expenses and leasing costs is an important way to reduce voyage costs and improve operational efficiency. Thus, in recent years empty container distribution problem has attracted more and more concern and attention of both academics and liner practitioners.This thesis studies and analysis empty container allocation problem under the ocean liner business model, while it focuses on to improve the efficiency of container operations, and reduce costs and route allocation of empty containers rental costs. First, investigation and analysis on sea containers empty systems, and complete description of empty container transportation system processes; next, narrow down on the cost of the empty container allocation system, and explore a set of favorable management of reduce to container costs by using qualitative research methods; then, establish see empty container allocation optimization model, provide solving methods and computational tools, and complete example calculation, so that raise quantitative methods to solve sea empty containers allocation problem. The thesis offers a theory basis for the liner operator, when they make decision on liner management.