Optimization of container shipping scheme and empty container reposition based on containers' lifecycle.

To take the maintenance cost and scraping income of empty containers into account, the containers are divided into different stages of lifecycle by the time they have been put into use. Based on the given container shipping route alternatives and loaded container OD, a mixed integer programming model is built to optimize the liner shipping network, the moving paths for the loaded containers, the sites for putting the new ordered containers into use, the sites for craping the old containers and which lifecycle stage of containers to choose for container transportation. The area which consists of China, Japan and South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States is used to do the case study. The calculation results show that 93% of the new containers are put into use in China, the ratio of containers scrapped in Europe and the United States reaches 64%, while 74% of the empty containers used for shipping cargos from China to the United States are at or near the ends of their lifecycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]