Forecasting port container throughput is crucial due to its impact on economic development. Socio-economic factors, which introduce uncertainty, are increasingly integrated into throughput forecasting. The complexity of common multivariate forecasting models significantly affects accuracy, yet few studies compare their performance on the same time series for throughput modeling. This study implements, evaluates, and compares the performance of eight multivariate forecasting models for port throughput within a proposed multiple-input single-output (MISO) system, chosen for their frequent use in container throughput research. It investigates two data preprocessing approaches: Random Forest Variable Importance Method (RF-VIM) and a Multi Lagged Value approach. The comparison uses six error metrics: normalized root mean squared error, mean absolute error, mean absolute percentage error, mean error, and root mean percentage error. Performances are discussed, and recommendations for adopting a suitable model are provided.

Seaports play a huge role in Vietnam's economy, being a border gate for economic and cultural exchanges with outsiders, especially the role of goods circulation. Container cargoes are one of the types of goods with large and increasing volume through Vietnam seaports. However, the heterogeneity between the seaport and the connected infrastructure greatly affects the capacity and efficiency of port investment. This is also one of the main causes leading to a shortage of goods, excess ports in some port areas. The root cause is that the planning has not kept up with the growth of the amount of goods arriving at the port, because the issue of forecasting the volume of goods through the port is not accurate. Therefore, it is necessary to develop models of forecasting container cargo through the ports with general, scientific, and high accuracy to serve the strategy, planning and development of seaport system; the work of planning and investment in the development of seaports, shipping fleets and other auxiliary transport infrastructure works. The purpose of this study is to build suitable forecasting models with high accuracy and reliability on the total volume of container cargo throughput of the Vietnamese seaport system. Based on the methods of a statistical survey, synthesis, regression analysis, and correlation to evaluate the influence of factors on container cargo volume through Vietnam's seaports in the period of 2004-2019. By incorporating more economic factors into the regression model, the paper focuses on forecasting container cargo through the Vietnamese seaport systems, going into cargo-based forecasting in tons and TEUs. The results of this study contribute to complete the rationale for forecasting, especially forecasts related to the shipping industry and the forecast for container cargo throughput of the seaport. Finally, selecting models for forecasting container cargo volume throughput of seaports by Vietnamese conditions.

Malaysia, situated between East and West, is an interface in world maritime trade, playing a crucial role in the business of moving container boxes in South-eastern parts of Asia. The prominent container terminals in Malaysia such as Port Klang and Port of Tanjung Pelepas are positioned among the top twenty ports in terms of volume handled. The annual average growth of throughputs in Malaysian container ports increased more than three-fold from the year 2000 to 2010. Within this context, the development of Malaysian seaports has been significantly influenced by three forces: increased use of containerisation, significant growth in domestic economic activities and ever-changing patterns in both supply and demand chains, all of which have led to increased transshipment activities and altered shipping routes. This phenomenon has brought dynamic change to Malaysian container ports, resulting in the establishment of new terminals and adapting emerging technology to enhance the ports’ ability to accommodate larger vessels and an increased number of containers. This paper aims to present the development of Malaysian container seaports by addressing changes to acreage size and handling volumes during the last three decades. The results of the analysis suggest that major Malaysian ports are experiencing an exponential growth in container trade with the expansion of port capacity following trade growth and need effective strategies to reduce the operational pressures of Malaysian seaports. The results of this research offer directions for development strategies of seaports by utilising the existing inland freight facilities as an effective strategy for capacity enhancement and develop efficient distribution network to meet future demands.

The port throughput situation has changed since the 2008 financial crisis in the US. Therefore, we studied the situation, accurately estimating port traffic of Korean port after the 2008 financial crisis. We ensured the proper port facilities in response to changes in port traffic. In the results of regression analysis, Korean GDP and the real effective exchange rate of Korean Won were found to increase the container throughput in Korean and Busan port, as well as trade volume with China. Also, the real effective exchange rate of Korean Won was found to increase the port transshipment cargo volume. Based on the ARIMA models, we forecasted port throughput and port transshipment cargo volume for the next six years (72 months), from 2015 to 2020. As a result, port throughput of Korean and Busan ports was forecasted by increasing annual the average from about 3.5% to 3.9%, and transshipment cargo volume was forecasted by increasing the annual average about 4.5%.