Toward a Simulation Model for Capacity Analysis of a New Port Terminal

With the current growth of the maritime industry, which is a key element for many supply chains worldwide, ports seek to increase their capacity and performance in order to tackle challenges and opportunities created by the increased demand in the industry. Port expansion is an efficient way to meet this objective, but requires important resources and careful planning. Before undertaking such a major project, it is important for a port to have a firm grasp and understanding of its current capacity as well as the expansion’s requirements and limitations in light of its traffic forecasts. This article presents the data analysis realized as part of an expansion project of a Canadian port case. The data analysis is executed in order to feed the first simulation model of its kind in this sector that will jointly consider the logistics operations taking place in the current port and its new terminal. This article addresses the first steps of the model’s conception through data analysis as well as solutions to problems encountered. As the study is underway, the preliminary results of the work are presented.