Managing containers in marine terminals: An application of intelligent transportation systems technology to intermodal freight transportation

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) communication and information technologies have been successfully used to manage and track intermodal freight containers while in transit. Currently, these technologies are little used in the management of intermodal containers within terminals. This thesis addresses questions of how ITS technologies currently being used to track and manage containers while in transit can also be used to assist in managing containers in marine terminals, and what analysis tools are needed to assess the effectiveness of ITS applications in marine terminals.; Based on a literature review, a simulation model of container handling and storage operations was determined to be a desirable tool for the studying the management of containers in terminals. A descriptive simulation model can be used to validate future analytic models of proposed ITS management strategies for containers within terminals. It can also be used as a tool to evaluate the operational performance of proposed container management strategies that do not readily lend themselves to analytic models.; The objectives of this thesis are to develop a simulation model of container handling and storage operations and to demonstrate the effectiveness of this model for the evaluation of both ITS and non-ITS strategies in managing containers in a marine terminal.; A conceptual framework describing container storage operations and their interactions with land-side and marine-side port operations was developed. Performance measures are included in the conceptual framework so that the efficiency and effectiveness of different management strategies may be evaluated. The event based simulation model was then developed using the conceptual framework as a basis.; The demonstration of the simulation model examines the benefits of using ITS technologies to better manage import containers in stacked storage. Current and ITS based stacking strategies are included. The simulation model produces consistent results and is shown to be a useful tool for analyzing the use of ITS technologies in the management of containers within a marine terminal.