Applying Tabu Search to Container Loading Problems

This paper presents a Tabu Search Algorithm (TSA) for container loading problems with a container to be loaded. The TSA is based on a two-stage procedural approach. While alternative stowing plans are generated directly using an integrated greedy heuristic, the execution of the heuristic is controlled by means of a superior Tabu Search. The TSA considers several restrictions of practical relevance. The performance of the TSA, which is tailored to problems with weakly heterogeneous box sets, is demonstrated using numerous reference problems from the literature.