Since 1995 container traffic worldwide has increased by at least 10 percent every year and this growth rate is expected to continue. There is an increase in the number of container ships as well as in ship size. In 2006, the worlds largest containership, the Emma Maersk, with a length of 397 m and a width of 56 m, was commissioned. Ships like this, with load capacities of much more than 10,000 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units), call for efficient container handling and storage systems at dedicated terminals. As a direct result, new container terminals all over the world are under construction, both on newly created port areas and in re-designation or extension of existing port areas.
Besides size and load capacity of the design vessel the choice of container handling and storage system is of major influence on terminal design. These systems affect the required floor space for transport and storage of containers as well as the handling efficiency, the required number of staff, the system reliability and the operation time.
The paper presents recent developments in container handling and stocking systems focusing on the amount of floor space required, and productivity.