The Transpacific trade between Northeast Asia and North America and Transatlantic trade between Europe and North America are the primary sources of United States container import activities. The large number of containers moving through US seaports highlights the significance of container traffic resulting in pressure on the nation's transportation network and influencing traffic congestion in the areas surrounding the major US-international water gateways. Container traffic in the United States tends to be highly concentrated and is becoming even more so as larger vessels call on ports that are capable of handling them. The consequences of strains in logistics networks will diversify the import supply chain and divert traffic to other routes. These alternative routes, through Prince Rupert and the expanded Panama Canal, are now emerging and will allow a more diversified import supply chain. Container trade trends are highly volatile. Increased volatility in the underlying economy creates new risks for container supply chains, demanding the ability to cope with rapid change, unpredictability, and instability. This research develops a spatial, temporal, and stochastic optimization model that optimizes network flows and accounts for congestion and risks for container import to the United States. The model framework comprises international trade routes, major ports in the US and Canada, and inland intermodal transportation networks. The model allows for risks associated with container demands, ocean shipping costs, and major intermodal infrastructure. The analysis provides insights into container imports activity to the United States. The results indicate optimal ship size, route, port, and interior shipping corridor. The model quantifies the distribution of container flows under conditions of congestion and stochastic variables, and the results are used to analyze inter-route and inter-port competition. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess system performance in response to parameter changes and evaluate impacts of congestion and uncertainty, as well as the prospective impacts of the alternative routes that are emerging. The results show that inter-port competition is very intense. The research provides a model framework for containerized network flows and can be extended to incorporate more interesting elements.
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