Optimization Of Empty Container Allocation In Rolling Multi-voyage Liner Service Based On In-Transit Inventory Cost

With the rapid development of economic globalization and intermodal transportation,container liner in the international maritime trade increasingly reflects its advantages. However, the demand and supply of empty containers appear dramatic geographical differences and imbalances due to various reasons, such as international trade imbalances.So liner companies have to reposition empty containers to ease this contradiction. In post-crisis era, liner companys’profit margins squeeze futher, so how to control costs becomes their top priority,and empty container allocation cost accounts for a large proportion. Empty container allocation has become liner companies’most common and thorniest chronic problem in their operating management,and it is a major obstacle related to business development.How to reposition empty containers reasonably has become liner companies’key factor in reducing transportation costs and improving the operating conditions.Currently, academia and industry largely ignore the empty containers’in-transit inventory cost in the study of empty container allocation problem. It not only underestimates the total cost of empty container allocation,but also makes the made scheme of empty container allocation actually not the best. This paper stands at liner companies’ angle, in view of the allocation optimization problem of empty container in short-sea service for liner carriers, under the condition of considering the empty containers’ in-transit inventory cost,the idea of global optimization about multi-voyage in one decision-making period is pointed out with the objective of minimizing the total cost of empty containers allocation. And in order to adapt to the dynamic characteristics of empty container allocation,this paper makes decision-making period can roll backwards over time dynamically to constantly adjust the optimal allocation scheme.This paper firstly introduces the concepts and theories about empty container allocation, including the causes, characteristics, processes, types, factors, objectives, problems to be mainly solved,etc.Thus, a detailed study of empty container allocation cost is carried out. The total cost is divided into allocation cost and in-transit inventory cost.A set of macro cost control policies are proposed.Then,this paper creates a rolling multi-voyage liner empty container allocation optimization model under the definite conditions.Subsequently, it is improved into a model under random conditions using the chance-constrained programming. Finally, an empirical study is designed,and Lingo software is used to solve the model. The results verify the feasibility and efficiency of these two models.This paper not only makes up the existing deficiencies of academic research in theory,but also provides decision support of empty container allocation for liner operators in practice.