Abstract
Multi-modal transportation takes advantage of multiple transport modes and can be an effective way to ease the negative environmental effects of freight transportation. This paper addresses a multi-modal distribution network design problem with the aim of balancing the trade-off between economic and environmental benefits. The distribution network that we consider includes both transportation with trucks and ships. We propose a new mixed integer programming (MIP) model which decides the optimal design of the system, i.e. how many ships of each type to use, their corresponding routes and sailing speeds. It also suggests an optimal cargo flow through the maritime and road-based network. We show how the MIP model can be used to provide decision support through a case study from the distribution of automobiles in India, which has a vast coastline that can be used for maritime transportation. Environmental emissions from automobile transportation in India have been rapidly increasing in recent years with the fast economic development, and it has become a major contributor to regional air pollution and road congestion. One possible way to ease these negative environmental consequences is to consider a modal shift where some of the automobile transportation from the production facilities located close to the coastline is replaced by roll-on roll-off (RoRo) ships. Our study shows that multi-modal distribution is both environmentally friendly and economically beneficial, especially if more industrial players can collaborate to create economies of scale.
Highlights
Freight transportation, as one of the most crucial elements of a supply chain, plays a key role in economic growth
The focus of this paper is to present a new mixed integer programming (MIP) model for the design of multi-modal distribution networks that includes maritime transportation
We show how the MIP model can be used for analyses and to provide decision support through a case study from the distribution of automobiles in India, which has a vast coastline that can be used for maritime transportation
Summary
As one of the most crucial elements of a supply chain, plays a key role in economic growth. Chandra et al (2020) study a similar problem as the one that we are studying in this paper They develop a MIP model for the problem and discuss the potential effects for encouraging the modal shift from land-based to maritime transportation for a case study on Indian outbound automotive logistics. Since sea transportation usually results in lower carbon emissions than transportation by trucks, introducing this mode of transportation as an alternative in a multi-modal network system provides extensive possibilities to improve environmental sustainability (Lam and Gu, 2016). Et al (2010) examine the potential for freight emissions reduction through a modal shift from trucks to marine vessels in the Great Lakes region They develop a geospatial inter-modal freight transport model consisting of a multi-modal (rail, highway, and waterway) network that is featured by time of delivery, operating costs and emissions.
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