International Multimodal Transport Research Articles

Research on Optimization of International Multimodal Transportation Routes Based on Uncertainty Theory

Delays in international multimodal marine transport can result in subsequent connection delays, leading to prolonged transportation time and increased uncertainty. To identify more reliable and cost-effective robust transportation routes, this study establishes a constrained planning model for multimodal transportation routes. Employing uncertainty theory, the model is transformed into a deterministic equivalent class model and ultimately incorporates an adaptive differential evolution (ADE) algorithm. Results of a case study indicate that: (i) the proposed model, compared with deterministic models, exhibits greater robustness and better aligns with practical transportation scenarios, resulting in substantial reductions in actual transportation time and cost; (ii) the solution efficiency of the ADE algorithm surpasses that of the genetic algorithm and Dijkstra algorithm; (iii) the start time of transportation and the confidence level of uncertainty also play crucial roles in influencing route selection. Therefore, decision-makers should consider a multifaceted approach when formulating transportation routes.

The development of the North–South International Multimodal Transport Corridor and the measures to integrate the regional transport infrastructure

The problems of the North–South Transport Corridor development are directly interrelated with the integration of the regional infrastructure of the countries participating in this project. The importance of this corridor currently affects not only the economic sphere, but also the geopolitics of the world community as a whole, as the power balancing issues in the world economy are engaged. Based on the results of the statistical data study from open sources, the analysis of extensive periodical literature, the pros and cons of the North–South Multimodal Transport Corridor (MTC) project are substantiated, and the promising ways of implementing and improving its effectiveness are identified. Political pressure on a number of participating countries and an asymmetry of interests are highlighted as factors that hinder the active implementation of the project (the most interested participants are Iran and Russia, other parties may have negative geopolitical and economic consequences from participating in the project). There are major challenges concerning the infrastructure development and the insufficient degree of harmonization of the institutional conditions within which the transport corridor operates. On the other hand, the greatest advantages of the North–South Transport Corridor are reducing dependence on other transport routes, including those passing through competitive countries, increasing national security and sovereignty of Russia, consolidating Eurasian integration, improving foreign policy links with the countries in Asia and Africa. In order to maximize the potential of the North–South MTC and increase its competitiveness in comparison with other transport hubs, the following ways are proposed: 1. One-time solution to a set of tasks: modernization of infrastructure, primarily, port infrastructure in Russia, railway infrastructure in Iran; full digitalization of the transport and logistics sphere in all the participating countries; harmonization of institutional conditions for the project implementation in the domain of legislation, customs procedures, business processes, management. 2. More active use of free economic zones and special economic zones. 3. Formation of a special supranational organizational structure that will directly deal with the development of the North– South International Transport Corridor.

Автоматизація побудови, порівняння та вибору маршрутів та схем доставки в системі мультимодальних перевезень


 The article proposes the application of a methodical approach to choosing the optimal route of multimodal transportation based on a module integrated into the information system of a freight forwarding company. The functions of the module are to build an optimal delivery scheme and meet all customer requirements, both domestic and international multimodal transportation, taking into account the changing circumstances in the conditions of instability caused by the state of war and the need to reorient the usual delivery routes.
 In the conditions of military operations, this method of automated search and comparison of alternative routes allows taking into account changing conditions that develop in real time, while the cargo flow should be accompanied by an information flow that would also be available in real time. The proposed structure of the database, the structures of requests for development routes., developed forms of source documents. The criteria for comparing routes of different dimensions are defined: the difference in the distance of cargo transportation, the costs of changing the existing system of cargo transportation, increasing the level of transportation safety, delivery time, reducing the cost of delivering a batch of goods, the difference in delivery time. A solution to the multi-criteria decision-making problem by normalizing the criteria and the additive optimization method is proposed. The method of determining the best route and supply scheme is implemented in the "decision-making" module, which is integrated into the information system of the transport forwarding company.
 The result of the practical implementation of the proposed method of construction, comparison and selection of routes and delivery schemes in the system of multimodal transportation based on the integrated module in the information system of the transport and forwarding company is the possibility of quick response to changes in external circumstances, warnings of emergency and conflict situations, control of the transportation process along the entire route and , if necessary, making adjustments to the route and delivery scheme, choosing a safe and effective option by the operator of multimodal transportation.

Study on the Necessity of Drafting a New Convention for International Multimodal Transport in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative

Study on the Necessity of Drafting a New Convention for International Multimodal Transport in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative

Features of legal regulation of international mixed transportation in modern conditions

Introduction. The paper is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the legal regulation of international mixed (multimodal) transportation of goods, passengers and luggage in a special period. In the conditions of war, the country's transport and logistics system plays the role of ensuring Ukraine's humanitarian, food, and energy security. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the problematic aspects of the legal regulation of international mixed (multimodal) transportation of goods, passengers and luggage, and to determine directions for improving the legislation in this area in the modern conditions of the development of transport corridors. Results. The author pays attention to the expansion of international multimodal transport corridors TEN-T on the territory of Ukraine and their influence on the intensification of international mixed transportation. It has been established that a successfully integrated transport system involves not only the combination and interaction of all participants in mixed transportation, but also the creation of a single legal and informational field, coordination of technical and operational characteristics of vehicles, infrastructure facilities, coordination and optimization of work schedules of various types of transport and all it is within different legal systems. Conclusions. The author concludes that due to the fact that international mixed transportation has become the only possible option for the delivery of cargo, passengers and luggage both from Ukraine to the countries of other continents and to Ukraine, the issue of unification of international legal regulation of multimodal transportation and the introduction of digital transport corridors is becoming urgent more and more acute.

Conflict of lien laws relating to the sale of abandoned goods carried by multimodal transport in Ethiopia

Background: Inland dry ports in Ethiopia serve as extended destinations for goods transported by sea, especially under the international multimodal transport system, to fulfil customs formalities. Ethiopia’s multimodal transport law gives carriers lien rights to detain cargo and documents to recover all sums payable under multimodal contracts. However, the country’s customs law gives customs the right to sell abandoned goods by auction and collect duties and taxes before any other payments are made.Objectives: This study critically examines current regulations and practices relating to carriers’ lien rights to recover uncollected charges on goods abandoned at inland dry ports.Method: A qualitative case study design is used to analyse the challenges and provide solutions for multimodal transport operators dealing with abandoned goods at inland terminals.Results: A major reason for abandonment is that the proceeds of sales of abandoned goods are insufficient to pay for taxes and logistics expenses. The Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise has lost an estimated 1.5 million USD annually from abandoned containers in multimodal transport.Conclusion: Based on the legislation and court of appeal precedents presented in this paper, multimodal transport operators’ uncollected charges should take priority over tax and duties for the proceeds of selling abandoned goods. As Ethiopia is a landlocked country, it needs to resolve this issue to ameliorate its multimodal transport system.Contribution: This paper suggests revising existing regulations and practices relating to unclaimed goods at inland terminals to recoup logistics costs ahead of tax. This will facilitate multimodal transport services’ use of inland terminals as extended destinations of seaports.

Optimization of multistage timeliness transit consolidation problem using adaptive-weighted genetic algorithm.

Cargo consolidation is becoming a crucial part of international transportation and changing the customer consumption patterns of the international community. Poor connections between different operations and the delay of international express have motivated sellers and logistics organizers to put timeliness first in international multimodal transport, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic. However, for cargo with small quality and multiple batches, designing an efficient consolidation network presents a set of unique challenges, including the coupling of multiple origins and destinations (ODs), and fully utilizing the capacity of the container. We defined a multistage timeliness transit consolidation problem to decouple the multiple ODs of the logistics resource. By solving this problem, we can increase the connectivity between different phases and make full use of the container. To make this systematic multistage transit consolidation more flexible, we proposed a two-stage adaptive-weighted genetic algorithm that mainly focuses on the edge area of the Pareto front space and the diversity of the population. Computational experiments indicate that the correlation between parameters has certain regular trends, and appropriate parameter settings can lead to more satisfactory results. We also confirm that the pandemic has a giant influence on the market share of different transportation modes. Moreover, the comparison with other approaches demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Improving the efficiency of multimodal transportation of chemical products from the Volgograd region to the near and far abroad

Introduction. The industrial sector of Russia is the most important segment of the country’s economy. Until the beginning of the 21st century, large chemical enterprises in Russia were focused on the domestic market. There was a so-called supply strategy formed back in the USSR for the Union Socialist republics. The products of the chemical industry were mainly transported by road around the city and to neighboring regions, the main cargo traffic for longer distances was mastered by rail and river transport. Currently, the largest chemical industry enterprise in the Volgograd region, AO Kaustik, is actively exporting to Europe, South America and Asia. To carry out international transportation of the company’s products, hired tractors with semi-trailers that meet all modern standards of environmental safety are used. The interaction of road transport with rail, river, and sea is actively taking place, effective logistics multimodal systems for the delivery of chemical products are being organized. Road and rail transportation of products is organized with Asian countries, with European countries – by road, rail and sea, with South American countries – by sea. Today, the company’s transport carries out international multimodal transportation to the near and far abroad. The issue of improving the efficiency of road transport is relevant. The paper considers the links of the logistics system of transportation of chemical products of the enterprise between the countries, along the routes: Russia – Netherlands and Russia – Kyrgyzstan. The comparison of road and rail transportation by time and cost on Volgograd – Bishkek route is carried out. The full loading of the vehicle with transport packages according to the calculation takes place in compliance with the loads on the axles of the tractor and semi-trailer. Improving the efficiency of transportation depends on the organization of loading and unloading points, customs control points, movement along routes, and the work of drivers. The statistical regularities of the distribution of the execution time of elements and operations in the loading point of the enterprise are investigated. The ways of organizing the work of motor transport drivers on the international Volgograd – Bishkek – Volgograd route are considered, the calculation of the duration of the elements of the transportation process and their cost is presented.Materials and methods. The paper uses methods of statistical and economic analysis of data on the functioning of the chemical industry in the region. Graph-analytical methods are used to form transport packages and ensure that the car is fully loaded. Methods for determining the shortest distances and drawing up routes on the transport network are used. Methods of organizing the work of drivers are used to ensure single and tour work on the international route. The effectiveness of the proposed measures is evaluated by economic methods.Results. It is revealed that the chemical industry of the region has a stable economic situation that allows it to develop new international markets. The links of the multimodal logistics system for the delivery of the company’s products along Volgograd – Bishkek and Volgograd – Netherlands international routes are investigated. Improving the efficiency of transportation depends on the organization of loading and unloading points. A statistical analysis of the elements and stages of the transportation process of caustic soda was carried out. A scheme for placing transport packages with bags of caustic soda in a semi-trailer of a motor vehicle has been developed. International routes of transportation of products of AO Kaustik using road transport have been developed: Volgograd – Bishkek and Volgograd – Netherlands routes. The mode of operation of motor transport when performing international transportation using tour and single organization of drivers’ work is calculated. We recommend a tour trip as the most effective way to organize the work of drivers. Tour riding is recommended as the most effective way of organizing the work of road transport in the organization of international transportation to near and far abroad. The final price of 1 ton of transported products on the Volgograd – Bishkek route has been determined. The effective functioning of road transport in the international logistics system for the delivery of caustic soda allows you to reduce transport time, transport costs and reduce the cost of a unit of production for the end user.Conclusions. The article develops measures to improve the organization of international transportation of products of JSC «Caustic» using road transport. The final price of 1 ton of products in the Bishkek warehouse, taking into account the initial cost of granular caustic soda and transportation costs in the case of organizing a single driver’s ride, will be 83246 rubles/ton, and for tour driving, respectively, 81355 rubles/ton.

Environmental aspects of the evaluation of the total pollution of soils with heavy metals in the coastal zone of the Caspian Sea at cape peschany

This study is aimed to analyze the total contamination of the soil of the CAPE with heavy metals and metalloids in the area, the ferry complex and farms on the Sandy Cape. During the survey of the coastal zone of Cape Peschanyi, the route method with the laying of 7 trial plots (TP) with background TP-7 was used. Total content of the heavy metals (HM) was determined by a laboratory spectrophotometer of HACH DR-2400 (USA). Studies of the ecological state of the coastal zone of Cape Sandy, after the introduction of an international multimodal transport hub that provides access to Europe, are the first and allowed us to identify the degree of anthropogenic transformation. The availability of farms testifies to the suitability of the Cape's soils for cultivation and crops. The assessment of the ecological state of the soils of the ferry complex, "melon" farms, and the territory of the national reserve with a conservation status is relevant and timely. The results of the analysis of the content of heavy metals and metalloid allowed us to identify pollutants that affect melons. According to the results of calculations, on P-2, ST=16.5 the level of pollution is moderately dangerous, on the other PP, within the acceptable level. The range of a variation less than 1, only for hexavalent chrome Cr6+, is bound to the fact that chrome is easily mobilized in alkaline soils. Statistical processing of the results by Statistica 10 had shown that the Kruskal-Wallis criterion is statistically significant for the elements Cr, Cd, Cu and Co.

Comparison of mathematical programming models for optimization of transshipment point seaport - railway*

Sea transport holds the first place in the total number of freight shipments of international transportation. Rail transport takes more than 87% of domestic freight traffic and is increasing annually. In particular, Russian Railways deals with scheduling in international multimodal transport. Sea port-railway transshipment points have a key role in the realization of such transportation. This paper considers the complex problem of unloading the arriving vessels and the formation of trains with the objective function of minimizing the total weighted delivery time of cargo to the destination point and minimizing the cost of forming trains. Two models (binary and integer) were developed and compared. The comparison was provided on pseudo real data which corresponds to Far-East Railway with numbers of vessels and berths comparable with presented in literature. The models were run using Gurobi optimizer.

OPTIMIZATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL MULTIMODAL CONTAINER TRANSPORTATION

The development of international cargo transportation has been relevant since the emergence of the international division of labor. Billions of tons of goods of various names, values and volumes are transported across the borders of the Russian Federation every year. This paper examines the Eurasian Economic Union international transportation system, its transport system integration, and the formation of a common transport space. The authors analyzed the international transport market state and conditions and the level of containerization. The transport system is considered the country's economy "circulatory system", which makes it a key link in the implementation of economic reforms in the country. The transport industry has social significance, which also determines the specifics of the phased market transformations. The development of international multimodal container transportation is becoming a new trend in the development of the transport service market.

The economic efficiency justification of multimodal container transportation

The development of international cargo transportation has been relevant since the emergence of the international division of labor. Billions of tons of goods of various names, values and volumes are transported across the borders of the Russian Federation every year. The paper examines the system of international transportation of the Eurasian Economic Union, the integration of the transport system and the formation of a single transport space. The author analyzed the state of the international transport market and the level of containerization. The transport system is considered the "circulatory system" of the country’s economy, which makes it a key link in the implementation of economic reforms in the country. The transport industry has significant social significance, which also determines the specifics of the phased market transformations. The development of international multimodal container transportation is becoming a new trend in the development of the transport services market.

How Multimodal Transport Change International Transportation Market: A Case Study from Bremerhaven

Bremerhaven is one of the 20 most important ports in the world and the 2nd in Germany. International mul-timodal transport is a new international container transport method. It is through two means of transport like land ship-ping, vessel shipping and air shipping to complete the coherent transport of goods in international instead of the single mode transport. Nowadays, providing high quality international multimodal transport services has become an important means to improve shipping company’s competitiveness. The idea of this paper is to provide information to the reader, fi rst from a broad perspective by analysing some global details to fi nally provide a detailed information and analysis of the multimodal transport in Bremerhaven.

The Impact of “Belt and Road Initiative” on Japanese Shipping Law

“Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) is a Chinese initiative to promote multinational economic cooperation and enhance worldwide prosperity. This Initiative’s impact on other countries’ maritime law and policy is worth exploring. This paper discusses the BRI and its impact on Japanese shipping laws, emphasizing the importance of Sino-Japanese economic cooperation. It is observed that Japanese private enterprises appear to have a more open attitude than that of the Japanese government toward the BRI. By participating in the BRI, Japanese companies can be more involved in international multimodal transport, not only as shippers utilizing the improved rail and sea carriage network to ship their products but also as multimodal transport operators providing logistical services. This may further trigger the development of Japanese shipping law, so that Japan can better benefit from the connectivity brought by the BRI and address new geopolitical challenges created by it.

Quo vadis, international long-distance railway services? Evidence from Central Europe

International railway passenger services have seen considerable changes in Europe over the past few decades. Using international railway connections within and reaching outside the V4 countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) in 1990–2019 as a sample, our paper explores trends and patterns in that matter in Central Europe. We have found that the characteristic focus on relatively very frequent short or medium-distance connections using the best equipped railway corridors – paralleled by a considerable reduction of the remaining services – has also been clearly in evidence in this part of the world. However, trends and patterns in Central Europe are not necessarily a mirror image of what has occurred in Western Europe. For instance, although a considerable shortening of travel times has indeed been observed, it has been achieved – characteristically – thanks to the improved permeability of state borders after the enlargement of the EU in 2004, with only moderate improvements to infrastructure being made. Central Europe therefore seems to be the prime example of an area in which contextual, political and geopolitical factors are the keys to understanding the dynamics of changes in transport systems. On the other hand, evidence from this region may give rise to some reflections on the possible roles for the European long-distance rail transport in the future. To begin with, our results show 800 km to be the threshold beyond which the competitive position of rail becomes significantly lower. Secondly, competitive pressure from innovative newcomers (Regiojet, LeoExpress, Arriva) clearly makes national incumbents more flexible and pro-active. Thirdly, the noticeable spatial re-orientation of international railway connections from the V4 countries towards Vienna and Munich (at the expense of Berlin) that we have observed is partly related to the appeal of these cities as multimodal gates with excellent locations within European transport networks. It would therefore seem that the railways in this part of Europe have been attempting to become an integral part of the international multi-modal long-distance transport system.

A Study on the Problems Related to International Multimodal Transport in International Trade Rules

A Study on the Problems Related to International Multimodal Transport in International Trade Rules

미국과 한국의 복합운송 전개와 시사점 : 미국 철도운송을 중심으로

This article relates the current status of rail-oriented international multimodal transport between the United States and South Korea. For this article, the issue will be on rail freight transport of United States of America as this mode is the most important mode for North America. Most of all, the objective of this paper is to provide a first approximation of the rail freight infrastructure developments and improvements in the continental United States rail network. So the methodology of this paper is to conduct comparative analysis with United States and South Korea in terms of GDP, trade volume, the current status of container terminal, the implementation of international multimodal transport. United States is well established in the field of rail transportation network. But South Korea has a very strong competitiveness in the field of road transportation.

Research on Countermeasures of Multimodal Transport under “The Belt And Road”

Multimodal transport can integrate the advantages of various types of transportation, improve the efficiency and quality of transportation, meet the requirements of personalized demand for commodity transportation. It is an inevitable trend for production enterprises to cope with the increasingly fierce global competition. Starting from the “The Belt And Road” strategy and the current situation of China’s multimodal transport, this paper analyzes the development of China’s multimodal transport under the “The Belt And Road” strategy. The development of international multimodal transport is analyzed. The countermeasure under“The Belt And Road” is put forward.

Air intermodal freight transportation: The freight forwarder service problem

Despite being one of the most relevant figures in international multimodal transportation, freight forwarding companies optimization problems did not receive much attention from the research community. In this work we try to fill this gap by presenting the general features of air transportation from the freight forwarder’s perspective and we introduce the air transportation freight forwarder service problem (ATFFSP). A MILP formulation of the problem is proposed and tested on real-life data coming from an Italian freight forwarding company. We study the performance of the model in terms of optimality gap and time needed to reach the optimal solution. Furthermore we compare the solutions found with the ones provided by the company in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the model and its ability to find good and practical solutions. Finally, we study the possibility of opening a new warehouse facility to better manage services and we analyze the corresponding potential benefits.

The Conceptual Algorithm of the International Multimodal Transport (CAIMT)

The presented paper comes as a summary of a theoretical work presenting an original algorithm describing International Multimodal Transport (IMT) mechanisms and processes. Since containers appeared in early 1960s on the regional, and later on, on global scale in logistic operations, the IMT has become the fastest growing combination of an international through-transport. With use of various modes of transport IMT has significant influence on global trade development. Due to its characteristic the IMT process is exposed on the global unitization, standardization, safety, security and economization (optimization) challenges. Thus, there is a need for scientific approach in building a standardized conceptual model of IMT referred in this paper to CAIMT. CAIMT is an original, deterministic algorithm, presented in the block notation, identifying typical procedures as a logical continuation of the programmed sequence of the basic IMT operations. The suggested CAIMT has a potential in further standardization of IMT procedures and can be scientifically developed through the modeling of the IMT processes and safety/security procedures. In addition, in terms of empirical aspects, algorithmization of the main IMT processes can lead to their application in the various expert systems. Summing up, this method (CAIMT) comes as an optimal instrument that can be utilized in order to build further pillars for IMT development, standardization and optimization.