How to Measure Throughput For ICD (Inland Container Depots) & CFS (Container Freight Stations)

Throughput measures represent the number of movements of the containers as
they pass through the terminal. The different operations involving movements of containers should be measured to consider overall ICD/CFS throughput:

-Railhead/berth transfer throughput
-Container yard throughput
-Receipt/delivery throughput
-Gatehouse throughput

Each of these is expressed as container moves per unit time. The sum of these yields the depot throughput. The striking result of this measure is that a given volume of container traffic corresponds to several times that number of container movements. This information is crucial for such tasks as resource allocation requirements and determining handling costs for containers.

Railhead or berth transfer throughput is a measure of the number of container moves between the railhead or berth and the container yard. The calculation includes all the inbound and outbound containers and any shifts and restows that occur at the transfer location. This data is extracted from loading and discharge sequence sheets.

Container yard throughput represents the total number of movements that take place in the container yard. This measure includes stacking of inbound containers and inbound shifts and restows, unstacking of outbound containers and return of shifts and restows, movements of full and empty containers to and from the CFS, movements to and from customs, health and other examination areas and in-stack movement of containers. If the terminal operates lift-truck system, stacking and unstacking movements are not counted, as they are included in the railhead/berth transfer throughput measure. This measure is useful in providing managers and supervisors with information on in-stack movements, which are considered unproductive.

Receipt/delivery throughput measures the activity relating to the receipt of outbound containers at the depot and delivery of inbound containers from the depot. The activities to be included in the ICD throughput calculation are those that involve the movements between the container yard stacks and the interchange locations and the stacking/unstacking of containers associated with those movements.

The remaining activities are related to gate activities and so are included in a gatehouse throughput measure, which measures the number of vehicles handled. The gatehouse throughput measure is not included in the ICD throughput calculation because the nature of the activities undertaken at the gatehouse is different from those activities associated with the other terminal operations – gatehouse activities do not involve ICD handling equipment.

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