Whilst the maritime container business has been studied in depth, the impact on shippers and how shippers deal with the given challenges has not been fully examined. Container Logistics bridges this gap and looks at the maritime business from a customer's perspective. The book examines the challenges, solutions and the latest developments in the container industry as well as the interaction between the different actors involved, such as freight forwarders, supply chain managers and shippers. Current hot topics from the supply chain and the maritime business perspective are included. From the supply chain perspective, Container Logistics covers areas such as the purchase of transportation services from ocean carriers and transport management, to effective and efficient logistics execution. From the maritime business perspective, the book covers topics such as intermodal freight optimisation and hinterland transportation, and terminal and port optimisation. With the inclusion of clear examples of best practice and bona fide case studies, as well as invaluable contributions from an international team of experts, Container Logistics is an essential guide for supply chain managers and shippers, as well as academics and industry professionals working in the maritime business. Online supporting resources include images from the book and chapter summaries.

This book provides a coherent and systematic view of the key concepts, principles, and techniques in maritime container transport and logistics chains including all the main segments: international maritime trade and logistics, freight logistics, container logistics, vessel logistics, port and terminal management, and sustainability issues in maritime transport. Container Logistics and Maritime Transport emphasizes analytical methods and current optimization models to tackle challenging issues in maritime transport and logistics. This book takes a holistic approach to cover all the main segments of the container shipping supply chains to achieve an efficient and effective logistics service system across the entire global transport chain. Sustainability issues such as social concern and carbon emissions from shipping and ports are also discussed. Each maritime transport segment is addressed using an approach from qualitative/descriptive analytics to quantitative/prescriptive analytics. Cutting-edge optimization models are presented and explained to tackle various strategic, tactical, and operational planning problems. The book will help readers better understand operations management in global maritime container transport chain. It will also provide practical principles and effective techniques and tools for researchers to push forward the frontiers of knowledge and for practitioners to implement decision support systems. It will be directly relevant to academic courses related to maritime transport, maritime logistics, transport management, international shipping, port management, container shipping, container logistics, shipping supply chain, and international logistics.

Container transportation is the predominant mode of inter-continental cargo traffic. Since container ships and port terminals involve a huge capital investment and significant daily operating costs, it is of crucial importance to efficiently utilize the internal resources of container terminals and transportation systems. Today there is an ongoing trend to use automated container handling and transportation technology, in particular, in countries with high labour costs. This in turn requires highly sophisticated control strategies in order to meet the desired performance measures. The primary objective of this book is to reflect these recent developments and to present new insights and successful solutions to operational problems of automated container terminals and transportation systems. It comprises reports on the state of the art, applications of quantitative methods, as well as case studies and simulation results. Its contributions are written by leading experts from academia and business. The book addresses practitioners as well as academic researchers in logistics, transportation, and management.

This book is focused on the impact of ocean transport logistics on global supply chains. It is the first book solely dedicated to the topic, linking the interaction of parties along this chain, including shippers, terminal operators and line carriers. While ocean container transport logistics has been greatly studied, there are many important issues that have yet to receive the attention they deserve. The editors and contributing authors of Ocean Container Transport Logistics: Making Global Supply Chain Effective seek to address these topics and shed new light on the subject. The book is divided into three parts. Part I examines the innovation, trends, competition and business model of container terminal operations. In Part II, the book looks at how tactical and operational management is used in shipping liners. The chapters cover topics such as empty container repositioning, slow steaming, routing, network design and disruption management. Finally Part III explores at shippers and global supply chain management, with chapters on transportation service procurement, hinterland transportation, green corridors, as well as competition and co-operation in maritime logistics operations. The eighteen chapters of the book all highlight the immediate effect of ocean transport logistics on global supply chain.

This book presents new insights and successful solutions to the operational problems of automated container terminals and cargo systems. It comprises reports on the state of the art, applications of quantitative methods, as well as case studies and simulation results. Its contributions are written by leading experts from academia and business and address practitioners and researchers in logistics, transportation, and management.

A cultural history of the shipping container as a crucible of globalization and a cultural paradigm. We live in a world organized around the container. Standardized twenty- and forty-foot shipping containers carry material goods across oceans and over land; provide shelter, office space, and storage capacity; inspire films, novels, metaphors, and paradigms. Today, TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit, the official measurement for shipping containers) has become something like a global currency. A container ship, sailing under the flag of one country but owned by a corporation headquartered in another, carrying auto parts from Japan, frozen fish from Vietnam, and rubber ducks from China, offers a vivid representation of the increasing, world-is-flat globalization of the international economy. In The Container Principle, Alexander Klose investigates the principle of the container and its effect on the way we live and think. Klose explores a series of “container situations” in their historical, political, and cultural contexts. He examines the container as a time capsule, sometimes breaking loose and washing up onshore to display an inventory of artifacts of our culture. He explains the “Matryoshka principle,” explores the history of land-water transport, and charts the three phases of container history. He examines the rise of logistics, the containerization of computing in the form of modularization and standardization, the architecture of container-like housing (citing both Le Corbusier and Malvina Reynolds's “Little Boxes”), and a range of artistic projects inspired by containers. Containerization, spreading from physical storage to organizational metaphors, Klose argues, signals a change in the fundamental order of thinking and things. It has become a principle.

After the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, it became apparent that maritime shipping containers themselves and their links with other modes represent potential security vulnerabilities. This report describes the complex, hybrid container ...