Solutions to the optimal network design problem with shipments related to transportation cost

Abstract

Two versions of an optimal network design problem with shipments proportional to transportation costs are formulated. Extensions of an algorithm developed in prior research for solving these problems are proposed and tested. The performance of the algorithms is found to improve substantially as the dependence of shipments on costs is increased. Moreover, the optimal solutions obtained are unexpectedly robust with respect to a wide range of transportation cost assumptions. These findings could have important computational and policy implications if applicable to larger networks.