Optimal unloading and storage pricing for inbound containers

We study a terminal operator's optimal container unloading and storage pricing strategies. Unlike the existing literature that ignores the interaction between these two prices, we propose a novel model formulation where they are jointly determined to maximize total profit. Our results enable an efficient search for the optimal prices, and provide novel insights into the tradeoff between profit extraction and storage cost efficiency. We also formulate a model where the storage price is determined to maximize the storage profit only, and conduct an extensive numerical study to compare the two models to obtain additional insights about their performance.