Hub port location and routing for a single-hub feeder network: Effect of liner shipping network connectivity

For the design of feeder lines within a region, previous studies assume that the hub port is given in advance. It is necessary to investigate locating hub port together with designing feeder lines for a region. This paper proposes a hub port location and routing problem for a single-hub feeder network, which addresses feeder line design and hub port location. The proposed problem also considers liner shipping network connectivity (the connection between feeder lines and main lines via container transshipment at hub ports). It is described by a mixed integer linear program, which is solved by a genetic algorithm devised. Numerical experiments show that: i) the devised algorithm can efficiently solve our model; ii) due to considering liner shipping network connectivity, the optimal solution of hub port location and feeder line design becomes more rational, as compared with that without considering liner shipping network connectivity. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd