Optimizing gate queuing at container terminals to facilitate green operations

The study proposes an optimization model to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when trucks are idling at container terminal gatehouses. A queuing model application for tandem queues and a bi-objective optimization related to transport problems have been used in this study. Data collection is conducted at a leading container terminal at one of the container terminals at a hub port in the Asian region. It is not difficult to predict ITT arrivals through the initial analysis of truck arrival patterns when compared to the imports and exports truck arrivals. It is observed that unnecessary fuel consumption and GHG emissions can be reduced by up to 42% compared to the given conditions. The presented solution reduces the major amount of problematic GHG emissions while the model can be employed by adjusting to given conditions. Similarly, the model can be expanded based on the factors such as the number of operators and equipment in the loading/unloading processes, shortage of chassis for transport between quay-yard, and scarcity of container slots in the yard or warehouse to the optimization of truck arrivals can be proposed as a future study area from this study.