Yard density

Yard density is the number of containers, in TEU or twenty-foot ground slots, a terminal stores per unit of yard area, the core measure of storage intensity. It is governed by the handling equipment and stacking height: ground-slot density runs about 233 to 320 twenty-foot ground slots per hectare, which converts to roughly 500 to 1,000 TEU per hectare for straddle carriers and gantries and up to about 2,000 for wide-span automated cranes. Higher density cuts the land per box but increases rehandling and slows retrieval. Planners size the yard from peak storage demand and target dwell time, balancing density against handling productivity.