A model optimizing the port-hinterland logistics of containers: The case of the Campania region in Southern Italy

Fedele Iannone ()
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Fedele Iannone: Institute for Service Industry Research (IRAT), Italian National Research Council (CNR), Naples, Italy.

Maritime Economics & Logistics, 2012, vol. 14, issue 1, 33-72

Abstract: This article presents an optimization model for the economic analysis and strategic planning of port-hinterland container logistics systems. The model was employed to investigate the inland multimodal distribution of import/export containers handled at the seaports located in the Campania region of Southern Italy. The loading units can transit through the regional off-dock intermodal and logistic facilities called ‘interports’, as well as through extra-regional locations which have a railway terminal, before reaching the final inland destinations or the seaports. The model mainly aims at highlighting and measuring possible advantages arising both from shifting the seaport exit/entry of containers to regional interports, and from employing intermodal solutions for inland distribution. The programming problem minimizes the sum of all container-related generalized logistic costs throughout the entire multimodal port-hinterland network. The logistic costs include transportation costs (by road and railway), terminal handling and storage costs, customs control costs, in-transit inventory holding costs and container leasing costs. A numerical prototype has been formulated and solved using a high-level programming language for large-scale mathematical optimization problems. The results demonstrate how the competitiveness of the regional container seaport cluster can be boosted by an interport-based extended gateway system with adequate customs facilities and improved railway connections.

Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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