Research objectives and hypothesis/research questions:
It aims at identifying the influence of container dwell time to define the yard operational performance based on the comparison of throughput and rehandling performance operating with various storage strategies.

Research methods:
Since the global trade has become sensitive, terminal operations in the effective movement of the containers have become a critical aspect in reducing congestion. To facilitate the analysis, this paper introduces simple methods to evaluate the effect of container dwell time and storage policies on import throughput, storage density, and rehandling productivity. To estimate the expected number of rehandles when delivering an import container to a road truck, a Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) method is utilized. The MCS method is an approach for iteratively evaluating a deterministic model using sets of random numbers as inputs. There are three important reasons for employing the MCS method. First, it allows us to make conclusions about the variance of the expected rehandles as a function of stack height and storage strategies. Second, it allows us to conveniently solve for ad hoc rehandling strategies – unique rehandling strategies employed by Lekki Freeport Terminal(LFT), when the bay is full. Third, it circumvents the need to make restrictive assumptions regarding the probability of containers of being delivered to external trucks. In essence, MCS provides a robust way of estimating the number of rehandles.

Main results:
The results demonstrate that extended dwell times lead to operational bottlenecks, resulting in reduced yard efficiency and increased rehandling requirements. This is particularly evident when analyzing rehandling under equal and non-equal probability models, where higher dwell variability amplifies inefficiencies. By improving dwell time management, terminals can achieve better throughput performance and streamline rehandling processes. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that probabilistic modeling provides valuable insights into rehandling outcomes, enabling terminals to predict and mitigate potential productivity losses. Addressing dwell time challenges is critical for enhancing container yard operations and accommodating increasing trade volumes efficiently.

Implications for theory and practice:
The findings provide a quantitative model of improving the performance at LFT and at other similar terminals.