An Optimization Model for Defining Storage Strategies for Export Yards in Container Terminals: A Case Study

In maritime container terminals, yards have a primary role in permitting the efficient management of import and export flows. In this work, we focus on export containers and storage strategies to minimize the space used in the export yard. The main aim is to define the rules to use to allocate containers into the bay-locations of the yard for minimizing both the number of bay-locations used and the empty slots. The storage rules are related to the configuration of classes of weight in terms of the number of classes to use and the weight limitations of each class. The idea is to use a 0–1 linear programming model to periodically modify the storage rules for defining the groups of containers that can be stored together. This model uses updated input data derived by periodical data analysis. A real case study related to an Italian terminal is reported and preliminary results are given