Optimal Design of an Integrated Cross-Border Logistics Network for China's Inland Regions

Abstract

Wei, H., 2021. Optimal design of an integrated cross-border logistics network for China's inland regions. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(3), 644–655. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.As the Belt and Road Initiative is initiated, a strong demand for the development of an inland cross-border logistics occurs. The inland port begins to play an important role in the establishment of the inland cross-border logistics network that functions to link sea and land transportation. From the perspective of the hub connection function of inland ports to the cross-border logistics network, this paper studies the optimal design of the integrated inland cross-border logistics network by a multi-objective mixed-integer program, which is built based on factors, e.g., logistics costs, freight time value, environmental costs, and governmental fiscal subsidy policy for cross-border travels. In addition, the influence of different target preferences, different cost structures, and different financial subsidy policies on the network especially on the proportion of different transportation modes are discussed to provide insights for the decision made to establish an efficient and environmental cross-border logistics network inland in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative.