Examining the influence of firm performance on business risk-taking and the mediation effect of scale of operations in the container terminal industry

Container shipping and its related service sectors help accelerate globalization of the world economy. This industry has been experiencing rapid growth, prompting container terminal operators to increase their handling capacity in response. Providing container terminal services requires substantial capital investment in physical assets such as cargo handling facilities and information systems. On the other hand, operating container terminals is a long-term investment that typically spans several business cycles. Hence prudent asset management using appropriate tools is critical for container terminal operators to sustain their businesses. Generally, due to risk-adverseness, investors are unwilling to take more risk in their investment unless they can reap a higher return. Contrary to this argument, this study finds no direct influence of better firm performance as a proxy of higher return on business risk-taking by container terminal operators. Instead, scale of operations is positively associated with business risk-taking, suggesting that container terminal operators with a larger scale of operations are willing to take more business risk.     

Evaluation of expected maximum values of forces acting on containers and lashing rods on a container ship

The appearance of a number of large container ships in the 8000 TEU range raises the importance of a plan for container lashing arrangements on deck in relation to the design of the ship. Therefore, it is expected that a new method for evaluating the lashing arrangements on deck will be introduced which is applicable regardless of the ship's size and the lashing pattern, instead of using the standards of several different societies, as happens at present. To evaluate the lashing arrangements on deck, the expected maximum values of the forces acting on the containers and lashing rods should be evaluated. This paper presents a new method of evaluating the container lashing arrangements on a container ship using an "acceleration ellipsoid." The applicability of the acceleration ellipsoid to an evaluation of the expected maximum values of the forces was examined by comparing the expected maximum values of the forces calculated by the long-term distribution calculation known as the "Fukuda method," to those calculated using the acceleration ellipsoid. By comparing these results, it was confirmed that the expected maximum values of the forces calculated using the acceleration ellipsoid were not less than those calculated through by the long-term distribution calculation. It is concluded that the acceleration ellipsoid can be used to evaluate the expected maximum values of the forces acting on containers and lashing rods. Received: December 14, 2000 / Accepted: March 22, 2001     

变频起重机起升机构制动系统参数的简化计算

变频调速起重机起升机构制动系统无论在其物理概念,工作性能还是在计算方法上均不同于走行机构。日本安川公司在这方面推荐有较为详尽的计算公式,但使用起来十分不便,为了便于计算,笔者根据系统配置情况,借助欧洲规范（ＦＥＭ）,简化了有关公式,以利于制动单元的选用和制动电阻的系统配置。     

A critical review of container security operations

Containers, which permit fast and safe handling between modal systems, are the main equipment used in intermodal transport. Unfortunately, enhancement of the efficiency and velocity of container operations has created a breach in traditional security, also known as container security. This paper presents a critical literature review of container security operations. We aim to identify current trends and future research directions in container security. We propose a classification framework based on the following elements: presenting the container security perspective, identifying threats, evaluating container security, balancing costs/benefits and the degree of security, balancing time savings/reduction and the degree of security, and securing containerized transportation processes. We discuss the current studies of these problems, the methodologies adopted and important insights into container security.     

Liner ship route schedule design with port time windows

This paper examines a practical tactical liner ship route schedule design problem, which is the determination of the arrival and departure time at each port of call on the ship route. When designing the schedule, the availability of each port in a week, i.e., port time window, is incorporated. As a result, the designed schedule can be applied in practice without or with only minimum revisions. This problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear nonconvex optimization model. In view of the problem structure, an efficient holistic solution approach is proposed to obtain global optimal solution. The proposed solution method is applied to a trans-Atlantic ship route. The results demonstrate that the port time windows, port handling efficiency, bunker price and unit inventory cost all affect the total cost of a ship route, the optimal number of ships to deploy, and the optimal schedule.     

1700TEU（GWS）船货舱通风系统设计

随着目前海运市场对运输冷藏集装箱的需求日益增多,本文结合集装箱船装载冷藏集装箱和危险品的要求,介绍1700TEU(GWS)船货舱通风系统的设计特点。     

20000DWT多用途船克令吊改造工程评估

20000DWT多用途船的克令吊起重能力为40t，有两个改造方案可提高起重能力到80t。改造工程对船舶稳性、结构强度、电站多个以及航行视野等有影响，本文从技术上对改装可行性做出论证和评估。     

Forecasting container throughput based on wavelet transforms within a decomposition-ensemble methodology: a case study of China

To improve predictive accuracy, new hybrid models are proposed for container throughput forecasting based on wavelet transforms and data characteristic analysis (DCA) within a decomposition-ensemble methodology. Because of the complexity and nonlinearity of the time series of container throughputs at ports, the methodology decomposes the original time series into several components, which are rather simpler sub-sequences. Consequently, difficult forecasting tasks are simplified into a number of relatively easier subtasks. In this way, the proposed hybrid models can improve the accuracy of forecasting significantly. In the methodology, four main steps are involved: data decomposition, component reconstruction based on the DCA, individual prediction for each reconstructed component, and ensemble prediction as the final output. An empirical analysis was conducted for illustration and verification purposes by using time series of container throughputs at three main ports in Bohai Rim, China. The results suggest that the proposed hybrid models are able to forecast better than do other benchmark models. Forecasting may facilitate effective real-time decision making for strategic management and policy drafting. Predictions of container throughput can help port managers make tactical and operational decisions, such as operations planning in ports, the scheduling of port equipment, and route optimization.     

稳心高分布对集装箱船总体性能影响研究

以某支线型集装箱船为依托,针对主尺度和主要船型系数相同,稳心高分布不同的两版型线,分别对对应方案的破舱稳性、装载性能、快速性等总体性能进行评估,并对结果进行研究和分析,进而揭示了稳心高分布对集装箱船总体性能影响的一般规律,为设计者合理优化船型稳心高分布以及市场选择合理的船型方案提供了参考和建议。     

上海港集装箱货运量预测及拼箱作业节点建议

首先,分析了上海港港口集疏运现状,并采用灰色预测模型对上海港口未来年集装箱货运量进行预测;其次,结合上海港历年的进出口集装箱比例及上海港总体规划,预测未来年进出口集装箱量比例及未来年外高桥港区和洋山港的集装箱分担比;再次,针对未来年产生的集装箱货运需求,着重分析未来年集装箱货运对上海疏港道路(主要为北部过江隧道、东海大桥)的交通影响;最后,借鉴日本成田机场原木物流园区的货运组织方式,提出在沪宁和沪杭方向分别设置一个货运集散点,作为集装箱拆拼箱作业区的建议。