Impact of Automated Port Operations on Landside Freight Corridor Performance: Opportunities, Barriers, and Future Directions with the Port of Long Beach

Automated terminals at the Port of Long Beach have helped process containers faster. Software-assisted cranes and autonomous vehicles have been crucial to improving efficiencies. However, little is known about how automation at the port synchronizes with the other conventional operations of container transportation in the multimodal freight network consisting of the freeways and highways in the Southern California Region. This research will develop tools to assess the status quo of supply chain operations and identify gaps to be filled through research and insights to build an efficient and resilient supply chain operating from the Port of Long Beach to other parts of the nation. Interviews will be conducted with the Port of Long Beach engineering and operations division and the freight truck operators of the region to gather insights into automation integration of the conventional supply chain functioning of container transportation across the trade corridors. Of particular focus will be developing an understanding of the extent of improvements possible for the Southern California Region’s trade corridors through simulation and analytical models. The models developed will mimic the comprehensive multimodal freight operations with automation in container transportation considered backbone of supply chain activities. The objective of this proposed research is to develop an analytical framework to evaluate the impact of the automation technologies at the Port of Long Beach (POLB) on the performance of the surrounding freight transportation network. The framework will be constructed by data and information collected through interviews with various personnel and staff at the POLB entrusted with efficient container movement across the port.

• Record URL:
  https://fersc.utk.edu/research-focus/fersc-projects/

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $313962
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Center for Freight Transportation for Efficient and Resilient Supply Chain

  University of Tennessee Knoxville
  Knoxville, TN  United States  37996
• Project Managers:

  Bruner, Britain

  Kaplan, Marcella

• Performing Organizations:

  California State University, Long Beach

  1250 Bellflower Boulevard
  Long Beach, CA  United States  90840

  University of Tennessee, Knoxville

  Center for Transportation Research
  Conference Center Building
  Knoxville, TN  United States  37996-4133
• Principal Investigators:

  Chandra, Shailesh

  Heaslip, Kevin

• Start Date: 20230801
• Expected Completion Date: 20240731
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automation; Container traffic; Landside operations (Ports); Multimodal transportation; Port operations; Simulation; Supply chain management
• Identifier Terms: Port of Long Beach
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01895585
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Freight Transportation for Efficient and Resilient Supply Chain
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Oct 6 2023 6:12PM