A port-hinterland hub network design method for reefer containers considering time-varying demands and diverse supporting service requirements

Xinglu Xu, Wenyuan Wang, Keke Liu, Yun Peng and Zhen Cao

International Journal of Production Research, 2025, vol. 63, issue 20, 7525-7549

Abstract: Developing an efficient and well-organised reefer container transportation network in the port hinterland is essential for facilitating land-sea perishable product transportation. This paper proposes a port-hinterland hub network design method for reefer containers. Considering the diverse supporting service requirements and seasonally time-varying demand of reefer containers, virtual links and nodes were introduced to model a realistic heterogeneous hub deployment issue. This enables hubs to provide various service functions. Additionally, a tailored robustness metric was developed to evaluate network performance under fluctuating demands. The bi-objective network model aims to minimise total costs while maximising network performance. An improved multi-objective particle swarm algorithm is developed to efficiently solve the model. Real case results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively manages network design under time-varying demands. It offers a range of solution schemes with varying levels of time-domain robustness, ensuring stable network performance despite fluctuations in demand. The experiments on the impact of demand seasonality provide operational recommendations for relevant stakeholders.Trial registration Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: NTR-11..Trial registration Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: NTR-13..Trial registration Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: NTR-15..Trial registration Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: NTR-16..Trial registration Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: NTR-9..

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/00207543.2025.2501170

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