Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Texas A&M University

Abstract

Despite the standardization enabled by containerization, container ports exhibit significant diversity in their sites, layouts, equipment, and operations. Terminal automation has further expanded this diversity, creating a landscape of facilities that use various stacking and horizontal movement technologies. Automation is also not a straightforward concept, as it can involve different levels of automation, ranging from equipment deployment (such as automated stacking cranes) to information technologies (such as appointment systems). The presentation investigates the main physical and operational characteristics of automated container terminals. What are the typical contexts and profiles of automated terminals, and what are their most significant impediments? It includes a detailed analysis of a geodatabase that includes a large share of the world’s container terminal facilities.

Bio:

Dr. Rodrigue's research interests mainly cover transportation and economics as they relate to logistics, intermodal transportation, and global freight distribution. He has published extensively on topics, including maritime transport systems and logistics, global supply chains, gateways, and transport corridors. He has authored 9 books, 40 book chapters, more than 60 peer-reviewed papers, numerous reports, and delivered more than 200 conferences and seminar presentations, mostly at the international level. He ranks among the top 2% of the most cited scholars in the world and among the top 100 in the field of transport.

[Slides]