Abstract
This paper firstly analyzes the structure of the existing container shipping network, which covers several areas located respectively in two counties, and develops a new kind of shipping network that consists of trunk and feeder lines. Secondly, the paper constructs a bi-level programming model that can be used to optimize the container shipping network with the aim to minimize the generalized transport costs. Then the model is tested with container O-D data between the ports in the Surrounding Bohai area in China and two ports in the West of the USA. Through the test calculation, a feasible optimized shipping network consisting of trunk and feeder lines is founded for the case study area.
