This document discusses key performance measures for container terminals and freight stations. It outlines four main types of measures: [1] production, [2] productivity, [3] utilization, and [4] service. Production is divided into traffic measures, which indicate cargo volume, and throughput measures, which indicate container handling activity. The document then provides details on calculating various traffic and throughput metrics such as ship throughput, quay transfer throughput, container yard throughput, and receipt/delivery throughput. The total of these throughput figures provides the overall terminal throughput.

1. 20/06/2011
CONTAINER TERMINAL/CFS MEASURES. 1. PRODUCTION MEASURES.
Container terminals and freight stations follow Production measures are divided into traffic and
similar criteria, i.e. they measure; throughput measures.
1. Production(output). Traffic measures indicate, in various ways, the
2. Productivity. quantity of cargo passing through a terminal in unit
time.
3. Utilization.
Throughput measures however, indicate the effort
4. Service.
involved in moving that cargo, in terms of container
However, the units of performance measure movements per unit of time.
differs.
Traffic measures.
Measuring primary terminal traffic.
Terminal traffic measures are those frequently published as
annual reports to stakeholders and customers. 1. In terms of, total number of containers passing through
They are broad statements concerning the flow of the terminal in a period of time, e.g. 200,000 containers.
containers and their contents through the terminal in a 2. Expressing containers in term of TEUS. Many international
stated time period. publications prefer this format to compare with other
They reflect, to the outside world, the general amount of terminals, e.g. 250,000 TEUS.
business attracted to, and carried out by the terminal. 3. By calculating the total weight of the cargo(including
It is meant to reassure readers about the continued success packaging but excluding the container tare weights) in
of the business. tonnes.
Are of particular use to the terminal’s marketing, 4. Through giving the value of goods handled in a given
commercial, and public relation departments. period, e.g. goods worth $500 million.
They are also important to terminal’s senior management 5. It can also be expressed in terms of revenue generated in a
(for panning of facilities), and to the government ,for given period, e.g. annual revenue for 2009 is $ 90 million. It
compiling trade statistics. is important especially if the terminal has shareholders.
Secondary terminal traffic measures. 2. THROUGHPUT MEASURES.
1. Container status; whether the container is, They measure the total movements(lifts)
import, export, transshipment, transit, house to made per unit time, and include;
house(FCL), pier to pier(LCL) or empties.
1. Ship throughput.
2. The country of origin or destination of the
containers. This helps in tracking down causes of 2. Quay transfer throughput.
deviations from target figures or from previous 3. Container yard throughput.
figures.
4. Receipt/delivery throughput.
3. Commodity classes; e.g. machinery, electronic
goods, food products, petroleum, industrial The grand total of these four give, the total
chemical products, e.t.c equivalent terminal throughput.
1

2. 20/06/2011
SHIP THROUGHPUT SAQ 8.
They measure the entire activity involved in ship operations Calculate the ship throughput for a terminal which had the
in a given period i.e. shift, day, month, or year in terms of following data in a week;-
EQUIVALENT CONTAINER MOVEMENTS, which include;- 1. Inbound local containers discharged 1600.
1. Each move of a discharged local container. 2. Outbound local containers loaded 1900.
2. Each move of a loaded local container. 3. Inbound transshipment containers discharged 500.
3. Each move of a shifted container on board. 4. Outbound transshipment containers loaded 600.
4. Two moves for each shifted container via the quay or 5. Containers shifted via the quay 125.
restows. 6. Containers shifted on board the vessel 40.
5. Two moves for each container lifted out erroneously and 7. Restows of containers via the quay 50.
returned.
8. Restows of containers within the vessel 40.
6. Every transshipment container handled.
9. Hatch covers lifted and replaced 70.
7. Two moves for every removable pontoon handled( hatch
covers opened and closed/replaced). ANSWER:
1600+1900+500+600+(2x125)+40+(2x50)+40+(2x70)=5170
QUAY TRANSFER THROUGHPUT CONTAINER YARD THROUGHPUT
They measure the number of container moves between the Measure the sum of the movements that take place
quay and the container yard. in the container yard, which include;
Assuming that there is no direct deliveries, transshipments, 1. Stacking of all discharged containers from the quay
and all restows and shifted via quay, were temporarily in the transfer equipment.
yard. From the ship throughput, we can extract Q.T.T as;-
2. Unstacking of all outbound containers to the quay
1. Local discharged and loaded containers 3500.
transfer equipment.
2. Transshipments discharged and loaded 1100.
3. Shifted container moves (2x125) 250. 3. All movements of full and empty containers to and
4. Restows discharged and loaded (2x50) 100.
from the CFS.
Total quay transfer throughput; 4. All movements to an from customs, port health
3500+1100+250+100= 4950 movements. and other examination areas.
5. All in-stack shifts of containers and house keeping.
Example b. In-stack and other in-terminal movements.
a. Movements related to quay transfer operations. 1. LCLs moved to CFS 120.
1. Local discharge stacked 1600. 2. Empties stacked from CFS 120.
2. Local unstacked loaded 1900. 3. Empties unstacked and moved to CFS 106.
3. Discharge transshipment stacked 500. 4. Stacked staffed containers from CFS 106.
4. Unstacked transshipment loaded 600. 5. Unstacked and moved to exam. area 54.
5. Temporary stacked ‘shifts’ 125. 6. Stacked returned boxes from exam area 54.
6. Temporary stacked discharge restows 50. 7. In-stack shifts for house keeping 1100.
7.Unstacked restows loaded 50. TOTAL=1660 movements
TOTAL=4950 movements GRAND TOTAL; 4950+1660= 6610 container
movements.
2

3. 20/06/2011
Note; THE RECEIPT/DELIVERY THROUGHPUT.
In-stack shifts for house keeping e.g. for re- Measures the activities relating to the delivery of
organization and creating access areas within the outbound (export) containers to the terminal, and
terminal storage blocks are typically unproductive collection of inbound (imports) from it.
movements. The source of information are sequence sheets
Managers and supervisors should strive to keep the from interchange instructions (for normal export
%age unproductive movements as low as possible. receiving, and import collection),and various
In the above data, they account for 66% of the in- discharge and loading sequence sheets (for railhead
terminal moves and 17% of the total terminal and inland waterway activities).
throughput(they are 1100 non chargeable moves). The data will indicate the total boxes delivered to
In ideal situations they should be, at most 20% of port, collected for transport to consignees, full and
the total in-terminal moves. empties handled.
1. Full boxes received and stacked 2110. Total terminal throughput.
2. Full boxes unstacked and collected 1370.
3. Empties unstacked and collected 265. 1. Ship throughput in equiv.con.moves 5170.
4. Empties returned and stacked 245. 2. Quay transfer throughput in cont.mvs 4950.
5. In-stack shifts for access 770. 3. Container yard throughput 6610.
Total receipt/delivery throughput = 4760 container 4. Receipt delivery throughput 4760.
movements through interchange activity.
1. Vehicles delivered exports 2110.
Terminal throughput in equiv.con.mvs. 21490.
2. Vehicles returned empties 245. Note; this was the effort needed to handle a
3. Vehicles collected imports 1370. total traffic of just 4000 containers in the
4. Vehicles collected empties 265. stated period.
Total; (2x 3990) vehicles. G.T = 7980 movements.
3