Container Handling Algorithms and Outbound Heavy Truck Modeling

This book includes four main parts. The first part considers the basic block relocation problem (BRP) in which a set of shipping containers is retrieved using the minimum number of moves by a single gantry crane that handles cargo in the storage area in a container terminal. The second part of this book considers an extension of the BRP called the block relocation problem with weights (BRP-W). The main goal is to minimize the total fuel consumption of the crane to retrieve all the containers in a bay and to minimize the movements of the heavy containers. The third part introduces a shipping cost model that can estimate the cost of shipping specific commodity groups using one freight transportation mode-trucking- from any origin to any destination inside the United States. The last part mimics heavy truck movements for shipping different kinds of containerized commodities between a container terminal and different facilities.