The global trends of automated container terminal: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Purpose Since the first automated container terminal (ACT) was introduced at Europe Container Terminals Delta Terminal in Port Rotterdam back in the year 1992, a lot of research had been done to improve the management of ACT. However, up until recently, the number of literature available still appeared scarce. Hence, this paper aims to review the collection of literature about ACT to generate an exhaustive summary to answer the formulated review question in this study. Design/methodology/approach Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses to narrow down the search parameters of literature retrieved so that only relevant articles were only selected. The systematic literature reviews were applied to analyse the content of the articles retrieved to determine its journal ranking, research findings and timeline of publications. Findings The adoption of ACT technology by container terminal operators could increase the terminal efficiency in productivity, cost reduction and environmental sustainability. Owing to global environmental awareness, the research trend of container terminal field and container terminal operator in the terminal design is much more environmentally friendly oriented. Research limitations/implications The limited numbers of experts in the management of ACT are causing challenges in data collections. Practical implications The analysis of the global ACT trend could help academicians and industrial investors to review the revolution timeline of maritime technology in port and shipping that is happening rapidly. Originality/value The analysis of timeline and collective literature leads to the propose of the conceptual framework to determine the relationship between increased productivity, cost reduction and environmentally sustainable.

Container terminal automation: revealing distinctive terminal characteristics and operating parameters

“…Camarero Orive et al ( 2020 ) listed 44 container terminals in the world using automated handling technology. Kon et al ( 2020 ) reported that 54 automated terminals were opened between 1993 and 2020. ITF ( 2021 ) reports 53 automated container terminals, representing around 4% of the total global container terminal capacity.…”

“…In the past decade, container terminal automation has attracted much attention in business, policy, and, subsequently, academic circles (Kon et al, 2020 , Ghiara and Tei 2021 , see also Sect. 3 ).…”

“…The progressive introduction of semi-automated and fully automated terminal systems is driven, among other reasons, by the need for operations standardization, reduction in manning, increased handling capacity (Zhao et al 2019 ), and productivity improvements (McKinsey 2018 ; Navis 2018 ; for a literature review see Kon et al 2020 ). Nevertheless, as we demonstrate, only 3% of the container terminals are automated.…”

Desktop Research into Historic Automation Projects of Brownfield Container Terminals

“…Automation of container terminals is a topic that has been studied since the ECT's Delta/Sea-Land terminal started operating in the early nineties. A systematic literature review on automated container terminals recently established that approximately 200 papers discussing results from applying automated technologies in container terminals have been published [8]. These papers mostly focus on specific problems of automated equipment and optimization issues.…”

“…These papers mostly focus on specific problems of automated equipment and optimization issues. None of the research focusses on brownfield automation implementation [8].…”