Presents the techniques and technologies to boost capacity, reduce cost, and improve efficiency in metropolitan areas. This book discusses ports and container terminals, how they interact with surface transportation, and related security issues. It provides a chapter devoted to fully automated containers and explains cost and performance analysis.

Increasing capacity at ports and goods movement in the supply chain in general, while also satisfying environmental, economic, political, labor union, and other constraints is, arguably, the greatest challenge of modern transportation. With space at a premium and costs through the roof, it is increasingly obvious that the traditional solutions are not feasible in the short- or even medium-term. However, advances in information technology, telecommunications, data management, and computation tools, coupled with recent research in systems optimization and control, may provide promising new approaches.

"? addresses aspects of most of the issues affecting throughput for very large container ports. ? well organized, flowing from an introduction to the automation of terminals, then inland terminals as adjuncts to marine seaport terminals, followed by pieces related to container movement logistics."-Kevin Horn, Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Vol. 50, No. 2 (Summer 2011), p. 117-119