Abstract: Based on revenue management,the container slot allocation and routing optimization problem for liner shipping industry is studied quantitatively under uncertainty circumstances. Firstly,a stochastic programming model is proposed by considering long-term transportation capacity contract,empty container transportation and routing choice,based on the analysis on the characteristics of ocean shipping container revenue management. Then,due to the demand uncertainty,a novel robust optimization method is proposed to solve the model.Finally,the optimized allocation policy by simulations shows that the robust optimization model gets higher revenue than the deterministic linear programming model does,and that the model and solution methods have application value to the revenue management problems for container ocean shipping companies.

Key words: liner shipping, revenue management, transportation contract, routing choice, robust optimization