Port Automation Reading List

Port productivity probably isn’t something most folks will be interested in reading about just for fun, so these sources will all be of the “useful reference” type, not the “good to pick up and read for general interest” type. The list is roughly in order of how useful I found the sources.

OECD ITF Report on Port Automation: A 2021 OECD report on port automation. Gives an overview of port tasks and the degree to which each can be automated, what ports have adopted different automated systems around the world, and how successful they’ve been (though the analysis is largely anecdotal and qualitative). This is the best source I found for describing what, specifically, can and can’t be automated in a port.

GAO Port Infrastructure Report: A 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office that surveyed U.S. and international port operators to see how much they had adopted automation and how successful it had been. Like the OECD report, this gives a good overview of what gets automated in port work, and gives anecdotal and qualitative descriptions of how those projects have gone. Has lots of useful information and details, though I would have liked this report to be longer and even more detailed.