Freight Transport Chains Research Articles

Challenges to the sustainability of goods flows in the Greater Lomé Autonomous District (DAGL) in Togo

The freight transport chain brings together several types of players, particularly upstream and downstream players, where it is connected to both nodal and linear logistics infrastructures. The territorial anchoring of the latter depends on a good level of collaboration between the various players. In addition to the flow of goods from various localities in the area, the Autonomous Port of Lomé generates major flows to and through the port city of Lomé, which raises questions about the sustainability of these various flows, which share the road with passenger transport flows. The aim of this study is to analyse the challenges associated with the sustainability of goods flows. The methodology is based on direct observations of incoming and outgoing flows in the Greater Lomé Autonomous District (DAGL) and semi-directive interviews with the main players in urban transport and logistics. The results show that the three main challenges to the sustainability of goods transport are congestion (28%), road deterioration (22%) and lack of parking space (18%).

Sustainability performance assessment of freight transportation modes using an integrated decision-making framework based on m-generalized q-neutrosophic sets

The freight transport industry is one of the primary sectors responsible for excessive energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Restructuring international and domestic freight transport chains based on sustainability and green transportation is critical for practitioners and policymakers to reduce pressure on the logistics and transportation industries. This study aims to develop a mathematical model for selecting the most appropriate transportation type, and accordingly, the optimal route in transportation operations to improve the sustainability performance of the freight transportation industry. Therefore, the main goal is to choose the most suitable route and transportation type which contributes to create a more eco-friendly and sustainable transportation system. For this purpose, Neutrosophic Number-based Delphi (NN-Delphi), m-Generalized q-Neutrosophic Sets (mGqNSs)-based Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (MGqNS-SWARA) and mGqNSs-based Additive Ratio Assessment (mGqNS-ARAS) are developed and implemented to set the influential criteria, compute the weights of these criteria, and identify the sustainability performance of the freight mode variants, respectively. According to the final results, "Cargo security" and "Accident rates" are the most important criteria with a relative importance score of 0.0237, contributing to the sustainability of load transport modes. Moreover, "Maritime Transport Mode" is identified as the most sustainable transportation type with a relative importance score of 0.7895. Finally, it is revealed that there is a positive relationship between maritime transport and sustainability.

Maximizing the Supply Chain Profit in Multimodal Transportation Problem with Transfer Part using Two-Echelon Genetic Algorithm

Multimodal transportation is a highly effective method for optimizing deadlines and reducing inventory costs, both of which are crucial in a supply chain environment. This study employs a mathematical programming model to optimize the supply chain profit for multimodal transportation distribution within a specified time window. The model considers five factors, such as production cost, transportation cost, transport time, penalty cost, and sales price. Additionally, a Two-Echelon Genetic Algorithm (TEGA) is proposed to solve the optimization problem, and a numerical example is provided to validate the model and algorithm. The study compares the performance of the proposed algorithm with the exact solution from a previous study, presents implementation details and numerical experiment results, and analyses the findings. The results demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of the algorithm, making it a significant contribution to transportation planning for freight transportation and supply chain management.

Prioritizing solutions to mitigate the risks due to adoption of intermodal railroad freight transportation for achieving sustainable development goals

Multiple cleaner strategies are being devised by governments worldwide to incorporate approaches aligning with sustainable development goals (SDGs), placing particular emphasis on the modal shift from unimodal road to intermodal railroad (IRR) freight transportation. This shift is gaining traction due to its documented positive impact on environmental, economic, and social sustainability. However, adopting IRR freight transportation in emerging economies faces hurdles, primarily attributable to inherent modal shift risks (MSRs). Addressing these MSRs requires the implementation of modal shift solutions (MSSs). This study aims to prioritize the MSSs to mitigate the impact of MSRs in IRR adoption, focusing on achieving SDGs with a case study conducted in the Indian logistics sector. The study is structured into four phases. The first phase identifies 37 sub-MSRs, categorized into seven main MSRs, accompanied by the 39 MSSs for IRR freight transportation adoption. The second phase employs the spherical fuzzy Bayesian best-worst method (SF-BBWM) to assess the relative weights of main and sub-MSRs. The third phase uses the spherical fuzzy C-means clustering (SF-CMC) algorithm to identify crucial MSSs. Finally, the fourth phase utilizes the spherical fuzzy combinative distance-based assessment (SF-CODAS) to prioritize these crucial MSSs. From the identified MSSs, pivotal solutions include developing an integrated physical IRR network across the freight transport chain and fostering relationships between stakeholders through long-term contracts and strategic partnerships. The available results are discussed to facilitate logistics stakeholders’ understanding of the implementation of MSSs aligning with SDGs to mitigate the impact of MSRs.

The cyclic production routing problem

This paper introduces the Cyclic Production Routing Problem (CPRP). The CPRP is an extension of the well-known NP-hard Production Routing Problem (PRP), which is a hard-to-solve combinatorial optimisation problem with numerous practical applications in the field of freight transportation, logistics and supply chain management. Under the PRP setting, a manufacturer is responsible for determining production decisions, as well as the timing and quantity of replenishment services offered to a set of geographically dispersed customers over a multi-period time horizon. The problem calls for jointly optimising the production, inventory, distribution and routing decisions. In this paper, the basic PRP model is modified to generate repeatable cyclic production and delivery schedules. A two-commodity flow formulation is proposed along with valid inequalities. Extensive comparisons between the basic PRP and the proposed cyclic variant on well-known benchmark instances are provided. The new variant is significantly harder to solve, especially when the vehicle fleet is limited. From a managerial perspective, the generation of cyclic production-routing schedules significantly increases all costs, whereas the number of vehicle routes required to implement a cyclic schedule is higher.

Transport policy, special issue editorial “Impacts of COVID-19 and other pandemics on the freight transport, logistics and supply chains, and policy responses”

Transport policy, special issue editorial “Impacts of COVID-19 and other pandemics on the freight transport, logistics and supply chains, and policy responses”

Information on Resource Utilisation for Operational Planning in Port Hinterland Transport

To meet increased freight flows through maritime ports, a high level of resource utilisation in hinterland transport is of crucial importance. However, various perspectives on resource utilisation create issues with use of information for operational decisions in port hinterland. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of information related to resource utilisation for operational planning in port hinterland freight transport to facilitate its improvement. The study is case-based, and the data is collected through semi-structured interviews, visual observations, and company documents. The findings are analysed with a framework built from literature emphasising different resource utilisation perspectives and the use of information in road freight transport chain decisions. The findings show that the use of information on resource utilisation in operational freight transport decisions in the port hinterland transport system is limited and lacks a complete system overview. Instead of the information on measured parameters, different types of estimates of efficiency parameters (including resource utilisation) are commonly used for operational planning decisions. The information about the measured indicators has to be combined with other information to obtain an efficient level of resource utilisation; otherwise, it could generate incorrect assumptions regarding utilisation. The paper contributes to the topic of operational freight transport planning by describing the use of information on resource utilisation.

An infeasible space exploring matheuristic for the Production Routing Problem

This paper proposes a novel matheuristic algorithm for solving the Production Routing Problem (PRP). The PRP is a hard-to-solve combinatorial optimization problem with numerous practical applications in the field of freight transportation, logistics and supply chain management. A manufacturer is responsible for determining production decisions, as well as the timing and the quantity of replenishment services offered to a set of geographically dispersed customers over a multi-period time horizon. The problem calls for jointly optimizing the production, inventory, distribution and routing decisions. The paper provides a novel two-commodity flow formulation and proposes a two-phase infeasible space matheuristic algorithm for solving the examined problem. The first phase deals with a relaxation of the problem to construct production-distribution plans. In the second phase, these are completed with routing information and optimized via a local search framework which oscillates between the feasible and the infeasible solution space. The framework is equipped with mixed integer programming components for restoring infeasibility and for diversifying the conducted search. Computational experiments demonstrate that the infeasibility space exploration significantly contributes to the quality of the final solutions. The results obtained by the proposed matheuristic out-match the results of state-of-the-art approaches. More specifically, 594 and 55 new best solutions out of 1440 and 90 instances of two well-established benchmark data sets of small-medium and large instances are reported, respectively.

Mapping and evaluating the complexity of information flows in freight transport chains

ABSTRACTThe role of information in the efficient management of freight transport systems is well acknowledged. Administrative functions, such as negotiation or payments, involve intensive communication, while the production of the transport service relies heavily on the sharing of information (e.g. track and trace). Yet, specific literature on information flows is relatively scarce. This paper sets out to contribute to filling in this gap. Firstly, it elaborates a set of maps of the information flows for four conceptualisations – direct link, corridor, hub and spoke, and connected hubs – of maritime freight transport, initially proposed by Woxenius (2007, “Generic Framework for Transport Network Designs: Applications and Treatment in Intermodal Freight Transport Literature.” Transport Reviews 27 (6): 733–749. doi:10.1080/01441640701358796). The results reveal a high degree of similarity between import and export services. Secondly, it assesses the complexity of each conceptualisation’s flow network using the concept of entropy. Flows are characterised along four variables: involved agents, timing, and contents and message type. Additionally, a new taxonomy is proposed to categorise the messages. The results evidence the heterogeneous contributions of each category to the complexity of the flows. Finally, the results also reveal that the information flows for the tasks in the pre-transport stage are not specific to the conceptualisation in question and are of comparable complexity to the flows occurring during the transport stage.

RESEARCH ON RAIL AND MARITIME TRANSPORT INTEROPERABILITY IN THE AREA OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS: THE CASE OF LITHUANIA

With the acceleration of globalization processes and increased international cooperation, freight transport routes are expanding, which requires new solutions for the most efficient use of various modes of transport. One of the most important factors that may improve the efficiency of the interoperability of different transport modes is information exchange allowing to plan transport flows in advance, exploiting benefits of the maritime and rail transport and minimizing its disadvantages. Precise information allows to find the most efficient mode of transport for the freight transportation chain. Precise information is necessary for effective management of information flows to ensure interoperability between the transport modes. This article analyses the specificity of railway and maritime transport modes, hence research questionnaire of Lithuanian transport companies is performed to present the results to show the most significant elements of railway and maritime transport interoperability. The completed expert evaluation enabled to prioritize the sequence of elements to ensure the efficient interoperability between rail and maritime transport.

Assessing the technical efficiency of intermodal freight transport chains using a modified network DEA approach

This paper presents a modified Network DEA model (NDEA) to measure the performance of intermodal freight transport (IFT) chains and to find the sources of inefficiencies. The model addresses two challenges in the application of NDEA to the IFT domain: first, the chains may differ in the number of divisions (i.e., transshipment/transportation activities); and second, one needs to define a relevant intermediate service. For purposes of illustration, the model is applied to a particular European IFT network for which the inefficient transport/transshipment segments are identified and discussed.

Integrating Enablers of Sustainable Freight Transportation and Perishable Commodity Supply Chain

Extant research has addressed the challenges pertaining to sustainable freight transportation and those associated with transportation of perishable commodities in disparate ways in that enablers of sustainable freight transportation have not been mapped with the considerations of transportation related to perishable commodities. This is characterized by short product life-cycles, retail demand uncertainties, traceability issues and so forth. In this backdrop, the authors' research attempts to integrate the considerations related to sustainable freight transportation with that of perishability-related aspects. To this end, this research employs interpretive structural modelling (ISM) so that enablers related to both the problems can be fused and modeled in such a way that enablers related to independent, autonomous, dependent, and linkage attributes can be identified, and their interactions can be understood.

Considering infrastructure when calculating emissions for freight transportation

In this paper, the contributions to emissions to air related to traffic infrastructure and terminals are analysed for freight transport with different modes. Data on emissions per km road or railway from existing LCA reports are adapted to a selection of road types and one type of railway line. The presented data are for air pollutants, use of primary energy and emissions of green-house gases divided into construction, maintenance and operation phases. These data are then allocated to the traffic-work produced on the infrastructure during its life span. Different allocation methods are suggested for the separate LCA-phases. The research has a focus on freight transport, why data are presented as emissions per vehicle-km for a number of truck and train types. For ports and airports, data are available per tonne of goods over quay or in- and outgoing. These results are then used to calculate the emissions added for infrastructure for freight transport chains. Examples are given showing the magnitude of emissions originating from infrastructure that can be added to tailpipe and other upstream emissions, e.g. fuel and vehicle production. In relation to tailpipe emissions the CO2 emissions from infrastructure is typically 1–7% for road and around 17% for rail. For air and sea the results will vary significantly; for typical intra-Europe routes we find a contribution from infrastructure of about 3% for air and 21–34% for sea, in relation to emissions from the vessels.

A new theoretical framework for integration in freight transport chains

ABSTRACTAt the European Union level, door-to-door freight transport chains – i.e. involving intermodal, combined, co modal or synchromodal transport – are seen as one solution for curbing the unsustainable growth of the transport sector. Integration is regarded as a key feature in the creation of enhanced transport chains. It would bring about purposeful coordination and alignment between transport agents with the aim of enhancing the performance of the transport service. However, integration also entails additional costs, so there are limits to its exploitation. Diverse theories and principles were used to study the dynamics of integration. System engineering principles were used to study the elements and structure of the transport chains; whereas logistics and supply chain principles were applied to explain agents’ behaviouristic elements and performance elements. New institutional economics theory shed light on the types and problems of coordination, or on incentives to overcome the barriers. Network and graph theories are useful to characterise the structure of transport chains and networks. The literature review highlighted that less attention has been paid to both the identification of the fundamental components of integration and the understanding the role of integration on the performance of a transport chain. This paper proposes a novel conceptual framework by which to understand the nature and mechanisms of integration in freight transport chains. It makes use of the concept of fitness and takes into consideration insights derived from system engineering and transaction costs economics. The framework is made up of four interrelated Building Blocks (BB): the customer's demand requirements (BB1); the transport agents’ profiles (BB2); the fitness (BB3); and the performance of the transport chain (BB4). Integration is the degree of matching (BB3) of selected components of the transport agents (BB2), chosen according to demand (BB1). The degree of matching will yield inefficiencies which will impact the performance (BB4) of the transport service. The framework identifies five dimensions of integration, corresponding to the various flows among agents, which are physical; logical; contractual; financial; and institutional. Finally, it considers three moments of integration: during production; while on recovery from a situation of non-compliance; and after the delivery of the goods. An initial validation assessment exercise was conducted with two case studies – one successful and one unsuccessful. This work complements others dedicated to understanding the organisation and production of transport chains. The framework can assist transport agents in identifying unexploited opportunities for enhancing integration or mitigating negative aspects. It can also support policy makers, for example, in efforts to prioritise investments in accordance with their potential impact on integration. Finally, as the framework provides details on how agents interact, it can support the development of freight transport models, particularly disaggregated approaches.

Reliable Routing of Road-Rail Intermodal Freight under Uncertainty

Transportation infrastructures, particularly those supporting intermodal freight, are vulnerable to natural disasters and man-made disasters that could lead to severe service disruptions. These disruptions can drastically degrade the capacity of a transportation mode and consequently have adverse impacts on intermodal freight transport and freight supply chain. To address service disruption, this paper develops a model to reliably route freight in a road-rail intermodal network. Specifically, the model seeks to provide the optimal route via road segments (highway links), rail segments (rail lines), and intermodal terminals for freight when the network is subject to capacity uncertainties. To ensure reliability, the model plans for reduced network link, node, and intermodal terminal capacity. A major contribution of this work is that a framework is provided to allow decision makers to determine the amount of capacity reduction to consider in planning routes to obtain a user-specified reliability level. The proposed methodology is demonstrated using a real-world intermodal network in the Gulf Coast, Southeastern, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It is found that the total system cost increases with the level of capacity uncertainty and with increased confidence levels for disruptions at links, nodes, and intermodal terminals.

A disaggregate freight transport chain choice model for Europe

This paper presents the estimation of a discrete freight transport chain choice model for Europe, which was developed for the European Union as part of the Transtools 3 project. The model describes nine different multi- and single mode chain alternatives of which three can be either container or non-containerised, and it segments freight into dry bulk, liquid bulk, containers and general cargo. The model was estimated on the basis of disaggregate data at the shipment level (Swedish CFS and French ECHO data). Several transport costs specifications and nesting structures were tested and elasticities compared with reference literature. It was found that freight models are characterised by heterogeneity, non-linearity in transport costs and hence Value of Times and non-constant rates of substitution. Not taking these elements into account will have consequences for the evaluation of transport policies using the freight transport model.

State-of-the-art of port simulation models for risk and capacity assessment based on the vessel navigational behaviour through the nautical infrastructure

Abstract Ports play an increasingly important role in the freight transportation chain due to containerization. High vessel flows and higher densities increase the relevance of the non-terminal related processes. Several simulation models have been developed in the recent decades with different goals, but their abilities to represent realistic vessel traffic in ports differ. In this paper, we identify the main navigational processes and operations related to the port nautical infrastructure, and review and assess the current port simulation models. This survey represents an exhaustive review of the state-of-the-art of simulation models for port assessment purposes focussing on safety and capacity. The model assessment focuses on the identification of the relevant criteria to represent vessel navigation, based on which processes are covered by each model and how they have been considered in each model. The assessment covers the nautical infrastructure representation and the navigational behaviour. The outcome of this review will be used for the development of a simulation based port assessment methodology. Future port simulation models should include the suitable criteria for a more realistic traffic representation that allows a proper safety and capacity port analysis and assessment.

Assessing the Efficiency of Intermodal Freight Transport Chains Using a Modified Network DEA Approach

This paper presents a modified Network DEA model (NDEA) to measure the performance of intermodal freight transport (IFT) chains and to find the sources of inefficiencies. The model addresses two challenges in the application of NDEA to the IFT domain: first, the chains may differ in the number of divisions (i.e., transshipment/transportation activities); and second, one needs to define a relevant intermediate service. For purposes of illustration, the model is applied to a particular European IFT network for which the inefficient transport/transshipment segments are identified and discussed.

Evaluating the external costs of trailer transport: a comparison of sea and road

The objective of this study is to deduce the comparative level of external costs per transported trailer within a context where an existing freight transport chain is replaced by one that includes ...

A disaggregate stochastic freight transport model for Sweden

This paper presents estimation results for models of transport chain and shipment size choice, as well as an implementation of the estimated disaggregate models (for two commodity groups), in the context of the national freight transport model for Sweden. The new model is a disaggregate and stochastic (logit) model, whereas the existing Swedish national model is deterministic. One advantage of the new approach is that it bases the underlying behavior of shippers on a stronger empirical foundation (that is micro-data from the Swedish Commodity Flow Survey, CFS). Another advantage is that it overcomes a well-known disadvantage of deterministic models that lead to implausibly large responses to changes in scenario or policy variables. Although estimation and implementation of aggregate stochastic models were done before, in the context of a national freight transport forecasting model, we think this is the first implementation of disaggregate freight transport chain and shipment size models estimated on choice data for individual shipments, certainly in Europe. We carried out a number of model runs with both versions of the implemented model to compare elasticities and found that transport cost and time elasticities for tonne-km are smaller (in absolute values) in the disaggregate stochastic model than in their deterministic counterparts.