Simulation of novel algorithms to reduce truck congestion at container terminals

Efficient managing truck flows has become a challenge for container terminals that have to maintain a high productivity while guaranteeing high service levels to truckers. Moreover, the increasing quantity of cargo to be handled in short time windows introduces congestion and security issues. This paper deals with the definition and simulation of various algorithms implementing a truck management system, with the objective or reducing congestion outside and inside the terminal, so guaranteeing security standards. An extensive simulation campaign has been performed on real data sets provided by an important Italian container terminal, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed mathematical approach in reducing terminal congestion and security issues. The designed methodology is general enough to be effectively applied in other container terminals realities located worldwide.