Scheduling truck arrivals for efficient container flow management in port logistics.

The management of truck arrivals at container terminals is crucial for efficient port operations. Congestions developing both outside and inside the gates can cause logistical problems, while also having a significant impact on the environment and the surroundings of the port. Therefore, optimizing truck queues outside the gates of the port, as well as routing of trucks inside the terminals can lead to an improvement in the overall efficiency of the port processes. This paper presents a mixed-integer linear programming formulation to determine these optimal truck routes and schedules. The model considers a port with an external parking lot, multiple gates, internal roadways, and docks. A rolling horizon heuristic is also developed for the solution of instances where the model is otherwise intractable. The developed methods are evaluated on instances simulated based on real-world data.