Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Transnet, the entity responsible for port infrastructure and the operating thereof, are faced with the difficult task of ensuring that the port system in South Africa is always ready to cater to all import and export requirements of the country. A major portion of these volumes will enter and leave the country in the form of containerised cargo, which effectively unitises the cargo for easier handling. What makes the task for Transnet that much more difficult, is that volumes are not easily forecasted and when one takes into account that ports need to be looking at least ten years down the line to ensure infrastructure can be put in place in time, it makes the problem that much more difficult. International studies show that trade between India, Europe and South America are growing, which provides South Africa with the opportunity to become a hub port based on the countries central location between these three areas. Currently Durban and the recently opened port of Ngqura are and will be serving as hub ports to cater for these and other volumes, but it is not certain under what conditions there would be a need for an additional hub port, if at all. Through the course of this research report three scenarios of growth are examined in an effort to answer this question. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Transnet, die entiteit verantwoordelik vir hawe-infrastruktuur en die werking daarvan, is met die moeilike taak geplaas om te verseker dat die hawe-stelsel in Suid-Afrika altyd gereed is vir al die invoer en uitvoer vereistes van die land. 'n Groot gedeelte van hierdie vereistes sal die land betree en verlaat in die vorm van houers, wat goedere unitiseer vir makliker hantering. Wat die taak vir Transnet soveel moeiliker maak, is dat die volumes nie maklik geskat kan word nie, en wanneer Transnet ten minste tien jaar in die toekoms moet skat om seker te maak dat die infrastruktuur in plek kan gestel word in tyd, maak dit die probleem soveel moeiliker. Internasionale navorsing dui dat die handel tussen Indië, Europa en Suid-Amerika groei, wat vir Suid-Afrika die geleentheid skep om 'n ‘hub port’ to word wat gebaseer is op die land se sentrale ligging tussen hierdie drie lande. Op die oomblik sal Durban en die onlangs geopende hawe van Ngqura, as ‘hub ports’ funksioneer om voorsiening te maak vir hierdie en ander volumes, maar dit is nie seker onder watter omstandighede sou daar 'n behoefte vir 'n ekstra-hub port wees nie. Deur die loop van hierdie navorsing word verslag gelewer van die drie scenario's, en word hierdie vraag ondersoek in 'n poging om hierdie vraag te beantwoord.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / Ecology and Biodiversity / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

The container shipping industry is essentially a service industry, based on the derived need of shippers wanting to transport their goods to buyers around the world. The industry relies on the volume of world trade and consequently is highly cyclical with its profitability being dependent, in large part, on the health of the global economy. It is also a highly capital intensive industry that requires large amount of investment in large scale fixed assets, such as ocean vessels, ports facilities, terminal equipments, global office networks and communication infrastructure. The industry has been undergoing a period of restructuring and consolidation in the 1990s, reflected in both merger and acquisition and in the formation of global alliances. This paper will explore the literature on growth alternatives and competitive advantages of the industry. The specific case on NOL/APL growth path and its key success factors of strategy-performance relationship will also be identified. This paper will conclude by making some suggestions on longer-term strategy for the company in order to generate sustainable profitability and financial success for the NOL/APL group.

Studiens syfte är att presentera en vision om en återbruksby i form av planskisser och illustrationer. Studien ska också förklara samhällsnyttan och syftet med en återbruksby. En återbruksby (även kallad kretsloppspark) är ett område för hantering av återbrukbara material och produkter. Dagsläget för hur avfall hanteras och framtida planer beskrivs också i rapporten. Enligt EU direktiv skall återanvändning och återbruk öka för att främja miljön.    Studien undersöker organisationen Mackens situation och hur deras verksamhet kan bli en återbruksby. Macken vill driva en återbruksby och ska presentera visionen för kommunen i hopp om fortsatt projektering. Visionen innehåller lokaler som alla har koppling till återbruk och förslag på utformning av dessa utifrån olika huskoncept. Som inspiration för områdesplanering används liknande parker.

Tyrimams аtlikti pаsirinktаs akcizu neаpmokestintas dyzelinas, kuris yra skirtаs žemės ūkio subjektаms, laikantiems didelius kiekius dyzelino, įvairiose talpyklose. Dyzelinas visą tyrimo laikotarpį (350 parų) buvo laikomаs aplinkos temperatūroje nuo – 20 0C iki + 30 0C. Tyrime naudotos taros: metalinė, plastikinė, stiklinė. Per pirmąjį tyrimą nustatytas dyzelino tankis, klampa ir taip pat dyzelino filtravimo koeficientas. Šie rodikliai imti kaip аtskаitos tаškаs ir lyginami su kitais gautais tyrimų rezultаtаis. Dyzelino tаnkis stiklinėje taroje tyrimo pradžioje 830,6 kg/m3, o praėjus 350 parų padidėjo daugiausiai 835,3 kg/m3, lyginant su kitų bandinių rezultatais. Klаmpа, visose tаrose buvo - 1,923 mm2/s. Atlikus paskutinįjį tyrimą (po 350 pаrų), didžiausia klampa gauta stiklinėje taroje esančio dyzelino – 2,073 mm2/s. Metalinėje tаroje dyzelino klampa mažiausia – 2,024 mm2/s. Tyrimų pradžioje dyzelino filtravimo koeficientas buvo 4,25 %. Po 350 parų, didžiausias dyzelino filtravimo koeficientas nustatytas iš stiklinėje taroje laikyto dyzelino – 31,61 %. Mažiausias dyzelino filtravimo koeficientas - 15,24 % iš plastikinės taros. / Selected reseаrch exempted from excise duty diesel, which is intended for аgriculturаl entities keeping lаrge quаntities of diesel fuel in different contаiners. Diesel entire study period 350 dаys were considered to be аt аmbient temperature from – 20 0C to + 30 0C. Used containers: metаl, plаstic, glаss. Diesel fuel density in the glаss contаiner аfter the first investigаtion 830,6 kg/m3 аfter 350 dаys increased by a mаximum of 835,3 kg/m3, compаred with other sаmples of the results. Viscosity of the first survey in all continers was 1,9226 mm2 /s. After 350 dаys, the mаximum viscosity obtаined in the glаss contаiner at diesel – 2,0728 mm2/s, plаstic contаiners – 2,0688 mm2/s. The metаl contаiner of diesel fuel viscosity at least – 2,0238 mm2/s. At the start of diesel filtration rate wаs 4,25 %. After 350 dаys, the lаrgest diesel filtrаtion rаte determined from a glаss contаiner – 31,61 %. The smаllest diesel filtrаtion rаte – 15,24 % wаs in the plаstic contаiner.

This work investigates new approaches to the container loading problem which address the issue of how to load three-dimensional, rectangular items (e.g. boxes) into the container in such a way that maximum utilisation is made of the container space. This problem occurs in several industry sectors where the loading approach places cargo effectively into aeroplanes, ships, trailers or trucks in order to save considerable cost. In carrying out this work, the investigation starts by developing a new heuristic approach to the two-dimensional bin packing problem, which has lower complexity than container loading in the aspects of constraints and geometry. A novel approach, including the heuristic strategies and handling method for remaining areas, is developed that can produce good results when testing with benchmark and real world data. Based on the research for two-dimensional bin packing, a novel heuristic approach is developed to deal with the container loading problem with some practical constraints. The heuristic approach to container loading also includes heuristic strategies and the handling of remaining spaces. The heuristic strategies construct effective loading arrangements where combinations of identical or different box types are loaded in blocks. The handling method for remaining spaces further improves the loading arrangements through the representation, partitioning and merging of remaining spaces. The heuristic approach obtains better volume utilisation and the highest stability compared with other published heuristic approaches. However, it does not achieve as high a volume utilisation as metaheuristic approaches, e.g. genetic algorithms and tabu search.To improve volume utilisation, a new hybrid heuristic approach to the container loading problem is further developed based on the tabu search technique which covers the encoding, evaluation criterion and configuration of neighbourhood and candidate solutions. The heuristic strategies as well as the handling method for remaining spaces developed in the heuristic approach are used in this new hybrid tabu search approach. It is shown that the hybrid approach has better volume utilisation than the published approaches under the condition that all loaded boxes with one hundred per cent support from below. In addition, the experimental results show that both the heuristic and hybrid tabu search approaches can also be applied to the multiple container loading problem.

This thesis focuses on the significance of distributive space for understanding capitalist forms of spatio-temporality. It argues that the distributive phase of commodity mobilities has remained a relatively under-represented aspect of social theory, especially in the context of cultural and social geography. The extant work that has focused on distribution tends to be confined to the areas of economic and transport geography. The thesis aims to address the importance of this space for understanding the formations of late capitalist modernity, particularly its role as a specific, but networked space between production and consumption. Significantly the work addresses the 'construction' of this space by focus sing on the substantive case study of containerisation. In doing so it engages with global commodity mobilities in the form of intermodal shipping containers, and their attendant logistical infrastructure. The research critically considers the spatial and temporal apparatuses that have been developed to organise and order the mobilities of the containers; including the design and development of the object itself, alongside a range of logistics and supply chain management strategies. In theoretical terms an important influence on the research has been Michel Serres' work on the interlacing of order and disorder. Given this, a simultaneous focus of the research deals with the immanent presence of disorder in these systemic environments; thus reflecting an intellectual engagement with theoretical work in the areas of turbulence, complexity theory, assemblage theory and Serres' work on the parasite. Substantively this aspect of the research has been determined by considering the place of the accident within networks and systems, alongside the 'tactical-logistics' of smuggling practices. 3

O Brasil possui uma matriz de transporte onde apenas 13% das cargas utilizam vias marítimas, o que não condiz com a realidade de seu território, onde sua extensa área e litoral fazem do modal aquaviário uma importante alternativa na movimentação de cargas. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho simulou um sistema de cabotagem onde navios circulam entre três portos dedicados, localizados em Suape, Santos e Rio Grande, e tem como objetivo dimensionar o número de berços por porto e a número e tamanho dos navios necessários para transportar, exclusivamente por contêineres, uma parcela da carga rodoviária. O trabalho considera as atividades de pré-operação, operação (carregamento e descarregamento), pós-operação, viagem entre portos e eventuais filas de entrada, em uma abordagem estocástica desses fatores, além do balanceamento e movimentação de contêineres vazios. Os resultados mostram que o tamanho da infraestrutura necessária para a implementação de um sistema dedicado à cabotagem é viável e seria uma alternativa para melhorar o sistema de transporte de carga entre os estados estudados. / Only 13% of Brazilian loads are transported by ships, which does not match the reality of its territory, where its extensive area and coastline make the waterway mode an important alternative in cargo handling. In this context, the present work aims to simulate a short sea shipping system where ships circulate between three dedicated ports, located in Suape, Santos and Rio Grande, in order to size the number of berths per port and the number and size of the ships necessary to transport, exclusively by containers, a portion of the road load. The work considers the pre-operation, operation (loading and unloading), post-operation, travel between ports and eventual entry queues, in a stochastic approach of these factors, and beside that the balancing and movement of empty containers. The results show that the infrastructure size required for the implementation of a short sea shipping system is feasible and would be an alternative to improve the system of cargo transportation among the states studied.