scholarly journals Optimization of the Pricing Strategies between Container Terminals under Deregulation

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Dong

According to the dual-track system implemented on port tariffs in past years, the vast majority of state-owned container terminals adopt the standard rates specified by China’s Ministry of Transport, while the container terminals of joint ventures are permitted to charge their stevedoring rate with a 20% float ratio up and down. The latest port reform was to improve the port tariff formation mechanism by speeding up the implementation of detailed list and public notice on port pricing. This paper analyses the optimization of the pricing strategies between container terminals under deregulation. Based on a two-stage noncooperative game theoretical model, the Nash equilibria of pricing strategy profiles between container terminals of one port under deregulation are derived. Although the price-matching strategy may be employed by the foreign-owned container terminal, which usually resulting in a total social welfare loss, the price-matching pricing strategy not being adopted by the state-owned container terminal will avert tacit collusion. Numerical simulation is applied to the case of Shenzhen Port.

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (04) ◽  
pp. 591-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Bressan ◽  
Hongxu Wei

A one-sided limit order book is modeled as a noncooperative game for several players. An external buyer asks for an amount [Formula: see text] of a given asset. This amount will be bought at the lowest available price, as long as the price does not exceed an upper bound [Formula: see text]. One or more sellers offer various quantities of the asset at different prices, competing to fulfill the incoming order. The size [Formula: see text] of the order and the maximum acceptable price [Formula: see text] are not a priori known, and thus regarded as random variables. In this setting, we prove that a unique Nash equilibrium exists, where each seller optimally prices his assets in order to maximize his own expected profit. Furthermore, a dynamics is introduced, assuming that each player gradually adjusts his pricing strategy in reply to the strategies adopted by all other players. In the case of (i) infinitely many small players or (ii) two large players with one dominating the other, we show that the pricing strategies asymptotically converge to the Nash equilibrium.


Author(s):  
Cuong Truong Ngoc ◽  
Xiao Xu ◽  
Hwan-Seong Kim ◽  
Duy Anh Nguyen ◽  
Sam-Sang You

This paper deals with three-dimensional (3D) model of competitive Lotka-Volterra equation to investigate nonlinear dynamics and control strategy of container terminal throughput and capacity. Dynamical behaviors are intensely explored by using eigenvalue evaluation, bifurcation analysis, and time-series data. The dynamical analysis is to show the stability with bifurcation of the competition and collaboration of multiple container terminals in the maritime transportation. Based on the chaotic analysis, the sliding mode control theory has been utilized for optimization of port operations under disruptions. Extensive numerical simulations have been conducted to validate the efficacy and reliability of the presented control algorithms. Particularly, the closed-loop system has been assessed through chaotic suppression and synchronization strategies for port management. Finally, the presented fundamental techniques can be utilized to provide managerial insights and solutions on efficient seaport operations that allow more timely and cost-effective decision making for port authorities in such a highly competitive environment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Arif Budiyanto ◽  
Muhammad Hanzalah Huzaifi ◽  
Simon Juanda Sirait ◽  
Putu Hangga Nan Prayoga

AbstractSustainable development of container terminals is based on energy efficiency and reduction in CO2 emissions. This study estimated the energy consumption and CO2 emissions in container terminals according to their layouts. Energy consumption was calculated based on utility data as well as fuel and electricity consumptions for each container-handling equipment in the container terminal. CO2 emissions were estimated using movement modality based on the number of movements of and distance travelled by each container-handling equipment. A case study involving two types of container terminal layouts i.e. parallel and perpendicular layouts, was conducted. The contributions of each container-handling equipment to the energy consumption and CO2 emissions were estimated and evaluated using statistical analysis. The results of the case study indicated that on the CO2 emissions in parallel and perpendicular layouts were relatively similar (within the range of 16–19 kg/TEUs). These results indicate that both parallel and perpendicular layouts are suitable for future ports based on sustainable development. The results can also be used for future planning of operating patterns and layout selection in container terminals.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2153
Author(s):  
Nadia Giuffrida ◽  
Maja Stojaković ◽  
Elen Twrdy ◽  
Matteo Ignaccolo

Container terminals are the main hubs of the global supply chain but, conversely, they play an important role in energy consumption, environmental pollution and even climate change due to carbon emissions. Assessing the environmental impact of this type of port terminal and choosing appropriate mitigation measures is essential to pursue the goals related to a clean environment and ensuring a good quality of life of the inhabitants of port cities. In this paper the authors present a Terminal Decision Support Tool (TDST) for the development of a container terminal that considers both operation efficiency and environmental impacts. The TDST provides environmental impact mitigation measures based on different levels of evolution of the port’s container traffic. An application of the TDST is conducted on the Port of Augusta (Italy), a port that is planning infrastructural interventions in coming years in order to gain a new role as a reference point for container traffic in the Mediterranean.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6922
Author(s):  
Jeongmin Kim ◽  
Ellen J. Hong ◽  
Youngjee Yang ◽  
Kwang Ryel Ryu

In this paper, we claim that the operation schedule of automated stacking cranes (ASC) in the storage yard of automated container terminals can be built effectively and efficiently by using a crane dispatching policy, and propose a noisy optimization algorithm named N-RTS that can derive such a policy efficiently. To select a job for an ASC, our dispatching policy uses a multi-criteria scoring function to calculate the score of each candidate job using a weighted summation of the evaluations in those criteria. As the calculated score depends on the respective weights of these criteria, and thus a different weight vector gives rise to a different best candidate, a weight vector can be deemed as a policy. A good weight vector, or policy, can be found by a simulation-based search where a candidate policy is evaluated through a computationally expensive simulation of applying the policy to some operation scenarios. We may simplify the simulation to save time but at the cost of sacrificing the evaluation accuracy. N-RTS copes with this dilemma by maintaining a good balance between exploration and exploitation. Experimental results show that the policy derived by N-RTS outperforms other ASC scheduling methods. We also conducted additional experiments using some benchmark functions to validate the performance of N-RTS.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
Hyeonu Im ◽  
Jiwon Yu ◽  
Chulung Lee

Despite the number of sailings canceled in the past few months, as demand has increased, the utilization of ships has become very high, resulting in sudden peaks of activity at the import container terminals. Ship-to-ship operations and yard activity at the container terminals are at their peak and starting to affect land operations on truck arrivals and departures. In response, a Truck Appointment System (TAS) has been developed to mitigate truck congestion that occurs between the gate and the yard of the container terminal. The vehicle booking system is developed and operated in-house at large-scale container terminals, but efficiency is low due to frequent truck schedule changes by the transport companies (forwarders). In this paper, we propose a new form of TAS in which the transport companies and the terminal operator cooperate. Numerical experiments show that the efficiency of the cooperation model is better by comparing the case where the transport company (forwarder) and the terminal operator make their own decision and the case where they cooperate. The cooperation model shows higher efficiency as there are more competing transport companies (forwarders) and more segmented tasks a truck can reserve.


Author(s):  
Abbas Al-Refaie ◽  
Hala Abedalqader

This research proposes two optimization models to deal with the berth allocation problem. The first model considers the berth allocation problem under regular vessel arrivals to minimize the flow time of vessels in the marine container terminal, minimize the tardiness penalty costs, and maximize the satisfaction level of vessels’ operators on preferred times of departure. The second model optimizes the berth allocation problem under emergency conditions by maximizing the number of assigned vessels, minimizing the vessel’s waiting time, and maximizing the satisfaction level on the served ships. Two real examples are provided for model illustration under regular and emergent vessel arrivals. Results show that the proposed models effectively provide optimal vessel scheduling in the terminal, reduce costs at an acceptable satisfaction level of vessels’ operators, decrease the waiting time of vessels, and shorten the delay in departures under both regular and emergent vessel arrivals. In conclusion, the proposed models may provide valuable assistance to decision-makers in marine container terminals on determining optimal berth allocation under daily and emergency vessel arrivals. Future research considers quay crane assignment and scheduling problems.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Yifeng Peng

Over the years, as people's lives have improved, our need for transportation and accommodation has increased, driving the rapid growth of the sharing economy. Some well-known network sharing platforms, such as Uber, Drip and Airbnb, provide a large number of convenient options for users with transactional needs, make more use of idle tourism, accommodation and other resources. Sharing economy platforms continue to improve the content and format of their products, but at the same time, the future of sharing platforms and the difficulty of competition is a concern as more platform companies become involved and prices become more transparent. Under this circumstance, optimizing product pricing has become an urgent need for many sharing economy platforms. In this paper, we take Airbnb as the starting point and conduct an empirical analysis of the blocking behavior of homeowners based on proprietary data to explore the factors that affect their product supply. We find that price, number of beds, and listing type all have a significant impact on blocking houses. After that, we conducted further research on price factors and developed a model aiming at profit maximization to obtain the best pricing range for the region and provide suggestions for pricing strategies. Keywords: Sharing Economy, Blocking behavior, Pricing Strategy, Airbnb


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-193
Author(s):  
D. I. Kochneva ◽  
S. V. Siziy ◽  
Hao Chang

A new approach to organisation of container block trains is considered based on the principles of passenger traffic. The technology assumes container train’s traffic subject to the timetable with sale of cargo space in the train. The train is made up at the departure station and follows the established route with stops at intermediate container terminals or stations, where a container for which this station is designated as destination is removed and a new container is placed on the vacated place to be delivered to subsequent points of the route.The objective of this study is to develop a methodology for optimal placement of containers in a block train intended for en route cargo handling operations. The technique involves an iterative search for such an order of placement of packages so that containers assigned to each intermediate point are as close to each other as possible. The technique is an authors’ algorithm based on combinatorial optimisation methods.The implementation of the proposed algorithm makes it possible to reduce the excessive mileage of handlers and loaders at intermediate points and, consequently, to increase speed of cargo operations when rearranging containers, as well as to reduce operating costs of using the loading facilities of the container terminal.The proposed mathematical algorithm as compared to exhaustive search allows significantly reducing the number of iterations in search for a solution and can be implemented as software.


Author(s):  
A.L. Kuznetsov ◽  
A.V. Galin ◽  
A.D. Semenov ◽  
E.V. Vinogradova

В работе отмечается, что одной из наиболее актуальных задач имитационного моделирования в области морских контейнерных перевозок является взаимодействие между собой контейнерных терминалов одного порта или нескольких портов морского побережья (морского фасада хинтерленда).По этой причине в статье рассматриваются методы оценки производительности причала, основанные на статистических данных и методе Монте-Карло, преимуществом которых является возможность оценить производительность всех операций контейнерного терминала с учетом случайного характера продолжительности отдельных движений путем наблюдения лишь за некоторыми, наиболее часто встречающимися операциями. Эти методы могут использоваться для решения задачи о взаимодействующих терминалах, когда суда осуществляют погрузо-разгрузочные операции на нескольких терминалах порта в рамках одного судозахода. Информация о производительности причала позволяет промоделировать данную систему без учета внутренних процессов контейнерного терминала. В работе доказывается, что существует зависимость между производительностью причала и размером судозахода судна. Корреляционно-регрессионный анализ позволил выявить наиболее подходящие формы зависимости линейную и степенную. В работе также получены оценки разброса выявленных зависимостей для целей имитационного моделирования. Полученная зависимость доказывает адекватность аналитических рассуждений о производительности причала, представленных в предыдущих работах.The paper notes that one of the most important tasks of simulation in the field of container shipping is the interaction of container terminals of one port or several ports of the sea coast (sea front of the hinterland) .For this reason, the article discusses methods for assessing the performance of a berth based on statistical data and Monte Carlo method, the advantage of which is the ability to evaluate the performance of all operations of the container terminal, taking into account the random nature of individual movements by monitoring only for some of the most frequently used operations. These methods can be used to solve the problem of interacting terminals when ships carry out loading and discharging operations at several port terminals within the framework of a single call. Information about the berth productivity allows to simulate this system without taking into account the internal processes of the container terminal. The paper proves that there is a relationship between the berth productivity and the size of the ships call. Correlation-regression analysis revealed the most appropriate forms of dependence - linear and power-law. The paper also obtained estimates of the spread of identified dependencies for the purpose of simulation. The obtained dependence proves the adequacy of analytical reasoning about the performance of the berth presented in previous works.


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