Impacts of Congestion and Stochastic Variables on the Network for US Container Imports

The rapid growth of container shipments has exacerbated congestion at ports and railway corridors. The purpose of this paper is to analyse congestion in the logistics channels for container imports into the United States. A spatial stochastic optimisation model was specified which optimises ocean shipping and inland transportation networks, and accounts for congestion and risk. The model allows for risks associated with container demands, ocean shipping costs, and some of the logistical constraints. The results quantify the probability distributions of container flows under conditions of congestion and stochastic variables. The results are used to analyse inter-route and inter-port competition. © 2012 LSE and the University of Bath