Storage yard operations in container terminals: Literature overview, trends, and research directions

• Reviews recent literature in container terminals’ storage yard operations.
• First to propose a formal classification scheme for storage yard operations.
• Reconsiders yard operations by challenging the current operational paradigms.
• Identifies new academic research avenues based on current trends and developments.

Inbound and outbound containers are temporarily stored in the storage yard at container terminals. A combination of container demand increase and storage yard capacity scarcity create complex operational challenges for storage yard managers. This paper presents an in-depth overview of storage yard operations, including the material handling equipment used, and highlights current industry trends and developments. A classification scheme for storage yard operations is proposed and used to classify scientific journal papers published between 2004 and 2012. The paper also discusses and challenges the current operational paradigms on storage yard operations. Lastly, the paper identifies new avenues for academic research based on current trends and developments in the container terminal industry.