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Foldable containers are considered an effective solution to deal with the endemic imbalance in the repositioning of empty containers. Several foldable containers were commercialized without clear breakthrough in the market and most current researches are still limited to small pilot projects. This paper presents the design of a new 5-tier stacking foldable container with convenient folding and unfolding process and that can be produced economically compared to previous products. The selected size of the container is the standard 40-ft high cube because it represents about 70% of the maritime container fleet transiting Korean ports. The presented foldable container passed the tests for international certifications ISO 1496-1 and CSC required for its application on site. Differently from the 4:1 folding ratio adopted by most previous products, a ratio of 5:1 is chosen to further the economy in storage space. In addition, cost analysis is also implemented for both transborder and transcontinental shipments to demonstrate the economic viability of the proposed foldable container. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canary Islands' economy is extremely dependent on sea transport. Since accessibility and connectivity are major determinants of international transport costs, the analysis of their main ports' connectivity is crucial for keeping costs under control. Since different port authorities manage the major ports of the Canary Islands, they could be tempted to compete for transshipment cargoes, instead of working together to facilitate supply chain integration that would increase their competitive standing. The aim of the paper is twofold. First, the infrastructure and superstructure endowment of the main Canarian ports and their accessibility, by evaluating site and situation factors, is documented. Secondly, the connectivity of the main Canarian ports is assessed by means of graph theory. This provides important measures that define a port's competitiveness, and its potential to achieve or keep regional or global hub status, and also to follow its evolution. A brief review of papers measuring port connectivity based on graph theory is included to illustrate the current approaches in port network analysis, and to justify our methodological framework. A sub-network of 53 ports directly related with Las Palmas and Tenerife ports has been selected for this purpose. Our findings are mainly related to the connections among the nodes in the sample network, and to the position that the targeted ports hold. Additionally, some policy recommendations, regarding how to improve the connectivity and competitiveness of the Canarian ports, are also enumerated. Previous analysis indicates that, at present, the Las Palmas port is the only regional hub in the Canaries. Both Canarian port authorities should differentiate themselves by specializing in certain valued added services and increasing traffic in these services. This would avoid the danger of a destructive competition between them to attract transit traffic. In summary they should be proactive in maintaining and improving the main Canarian ports' connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cilj je ovoga rada pokazati da se primjenom teorije redova čekanja može odrediti optimalan kapacitet lučkoga kontejnerskoga terminala, odnosno kombinacija broja pristana i dizalica po pristanu s najmanjim troškovima za zadani promet. Kontejnerski terminal je sustav složen od određenog broja međusobno zavisnih podsustava pa se optimalan kapacitet terminala svodi na izračunavanje optimalnog broja pristana, budući da kapacitet pristana determinira potreban kapacitet ostalih podsustava, a time i propusnu moć kontejner-skog terminala u cjelini. Za dobivanje optimalnog rješenja primijenjen je model ukupnih troškova koji se temelji na teoriji redova čekanja. Model se može koristiti za bilo koji kontejnerski terminal te za terminale u sadašnjim ili budućim uvjetima. Dobiveni rezultati su baza za donošenje odgovarajućih poslovnih odluka vezanih za poslovanje terminala. Model je testiran na primjeru kontejnerskog terminala riječke luke Brajdica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to show that the implementation of the queuing theory could set an optimal capacity of the port container terminal, or a combination of the number of berths and cranes per berth with the minimum costs for the given traffic. The container terminal is a system composed of a specific number of mutually depending subsystems so the optimal capacity of the terminal is reduced to the calculation of the optimal number of berths, since the capacity of the berth determines the necessary capacity of the other subsystems, and thereby a throughput of the entire container terminal. The optimal solution was received by applying a model of total costs that is based on the queuing theory. This model can be used for any container terminal and for terminals in present and future conditions. The results are a basis for bringing adequate business decisions related to the operating of the terminal. The model is tested on an example of container terminal Brajdica in Port of Rijeka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]