Removing mystery of intermodal capacity

Developed by the Port of Tacoma and Bremerhaven’s Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL), the plugand- play Intermodal Yard Capacity Planning System (IYCAPS) has already been used to successfully determine the capacity of intermodal yards at Tacoma’s Pierce County Terminal and at Washington United Terminals.

It has also been used to plan a doubling of the capacity of the on-dock yard at Pierce County Terminal, the Northwest home of Evergreen Marine, Hatsu Marine and Italia Marittima. The software can also predict the effect that enhancements such as new equipment or physical modifications will have on an intermodal yard.

“There are many variables that we can manipulate,” said Brian Mannelly, Tacoma’s manager of terminal planning and CADD Services. “For example, we can manipulate seasonality – we have times when volumes are higher than others – and see how variations in the peaking cycles change the output.”