Foldable and standard containers in empty container repositioning

Strategies to reposition empty containers are an unabated issue for shipping companies. This study compares the repositioning costs of foldable containers to those of standard containers. Mathematical models are used to minimize the total relevant cost, which includes the folding/unfolding cost, the inventory storage cost, the container purchasing cost, and the repositioning cost. Heuristic algorithms are proposed to solve the mathematical models. Numerical experiments are carried out in several scenarios to demonstrate the economic feasibility of foldable containers. The sensitivity analysis shows that the purchasing cost and the transportation cost affect the use of foldable containers. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.