Uncertainty in Intermodal and Synchromodal Transport: Review and Future Research Directions

Thibault Delbart,Kris Braekers,An Caris,Yves Molenbruch

doi:10.3390/su13073980

Thibault Delbart, Kris Braekers + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073980

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Abstract

Long-haul continental freight flows still heavily rely on unimodal road transport. Intermodal transport, combining road transport with other transport modes, has the potential to have lower operating costs and to be more environmentally sustainable. However, road transport benefits from its better flexibility and adaptability to sudden disruptions and uncertainties. To facilitate a modal shift towards intermodal transport, it is crucial to improve its resilience (i.e., capability to resist and recover from sudden disruptions). Synchromodality is an extension of intermodality in which decisions on modal choice and routing are not predefined long in advance but are taken based on real-time information and may provide a step in that direction. The conducted literature review investigates how uncertainty can be handled in intermodal and synchromodal freight transport networks. The literature is classified based on the planning level, which is either strategic, tactical or operational. The main focus is on the studied types of uncertainty and the proposed solution approaches. This work contributes to the research field by reviewing the literature on intermodal and synchromodal transport with uncertainty, presenting measures to mitigate the effects of uncertainty and proposing future research directions.

Highlights

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
Intermodal transport is the transport of goods with at least two different modes, whereby the goods remain in the same loading unit throughout the whole trip [2]
The only studies that exclusively opt for an exact solution method are Karimi et al [39], which uses an exact solver on a mixed-integer linear program (MILP), and Meraklı and Yaman [37], which compares their proposed Benders decomposition algorithms against a mixed integer programming formulation with a 10 h time limit

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. In 2017, 73.3% of all inland freight transport was by road in the European Union, and this value is increasing [1] In an effort to reduce the environmental impact and costs, more efficient transport modes are being considered by logistics service providers. A combination of modes is often used in which high-capacity modes such as trains and ships perform long-haul transport and trucks perform first- and last-mile delivery. Intermodal transport is the transport of goods with at least two different modes, whereby the goods remain in the same loading unit throughout the whole trip [2]. No formal definition exists, this definition is widely adopted [3]

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