Optimization of a Container Transport System with the Breeder Genetic Algorithm

In the eld of vehicle routing and scheduling the problem of container transportation attracted less attention than one would expect when taking the economical importance into account. Enormous amounts of goods are tranported in containers of various kind. Di erent networks have been established for the distribution of spare parts in the automobile industry, parcels, deep-frozen food and many more. For both economical and ecological reasons it would make sense to join at least a few of these networks. But besides technical problems like sharing containers between di erent companies the large number of depots and containers makes the problem so complex that it exceeds the capabilities of human planners. In this paper, we present an approach to optimize the distribution problem with some important constraints like automated generation of balance tours and to quickly produce similar schedules for similar problem instances