Transportation Carriers Research Articles

An optimal schedule recovery model for transportation carriers under uncertain typhoon disruption periods

An optimal schedule recovery model for transportation carriers under uncertain typhoon disruption periods

Shapley value cost allocation model for multimodal freight transport carriers

The downstream petroleum products distribution is beset with significant challenges due to ageing pipeline infrastructure, pipeline vandalism and other logistical constraints. These challenges have given rise to soaring pump prices of premium motor spirit (PMS), product shortages and unavailability across some locations in Nigeria. Thus, deploying alternative transport modes for PMS distribution is explored to improve product distribution efficiency. The decision to combine inland waterway transport (instead of pipeline network) and road transport modes would activate the intrinsic advantages inherent in the multimodal transport system. However, the efficiency outcome of using multi-modes may be eroded if the multimodal transport operators compete (instead of collaborating) in service provisions. This research investigated cost efficiency in cooperative collaboration among multimodal transport carriers. We proposed collaboration among six multimodal transport operators. The aim of encouraging such a large-scale coalition (S) is the expectation that costs emanating from their joint operation would be reduced. We applied the Shapley value cost allocation method to distribute the costs of operation and profit to the collaborators. After the analysis, we observed that the unit cost for coalition S1 was reduced by N17.16 (5.10 %) million naira. Similarly, we observed respective reductions in unit costs for coalitions S2, …, S10. We observed a reduction in cost by N107.84 million naira, which represents a 6.15 % reduction in total unit cost for the multimodal transportation carriers. Thus, the observed cost efficiency represents savings due to distribution chain efficiency if the multimodal transport carriers collaborate to improve product availability. Working as a coalition would offset PMS pump price variation attributable to distribution chain inefficiency.

Transportation-Enabled Services: Concept, Framework, and Research Opportunities

As a result of rapid advancements in urban infrastructure and technology, transportation is transforming a variety of innovative and emerging services. This paper introduces the concept of transportation-enabled services (TRENS), which is a service model that uses transportation systems to enable and enhance the delivery, accessibility, and effectiveness of nontransportation services. We establish a general framework in which the transportation-enabled services involve four key stakeholders: customers, suppliers, TRENS providers, and transportation carriers. Within this general framework, we present five specific service models: a one-sided market, three variants of two-sided markets, and a three-sided market, each characterized by the interactions among suppliers, TRENS providers, and transportation carriers. Taking different models of transportation-enabled services into consideration, we highlight crucial research opportunities to enhance understanding of the planning, operations, evaluation, and regulation of transportation-enabled services. These research opportunities include demand and supply management, transportation system management and operations, coordination among stakeholders, and the evaluation and regulation of transportation-enabled services. We believe that the emergence, widespread adoption, and popularity of transportation-enabled services will significantly enhance and reshape many services and thus contribute to the overall improvement of future mobility in the broader context of smart cities. History: This paper has been accepted for the Service Science Special Issue on Innovation in Transportation-Enabled Urban Services. Funding: The work of Hai Wang was supported by the Lee Kong Chian Fellowship awarded by Singapore Management University. The work of Hao Sun was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 72301179].

The impact of transportation capacity in pre‐positioning humanitarian supplies

ABSTRACTHumanitarian action saves lives by delivering supplies following a disaster. To effectively prepare, large humanitarian organizations solve optimization models to allocate inventory minimizing expected time‐to‐respond. However, these organizations also rely on transportation carriers to deliver this inventory, a feature often omitted from such models. Part of the reason is that capacity data on third‐party carriers are scant. Nevertheless, there is value in humanitarian organizations asking themselves the following: how should such data be incorporated into a model; how important is it to incorporate transportation capacities; where is it worth increasing transportation capacity? Building on previous inventory optimization models, we partner with the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to answer these questions by incorporating transportation market capacity. Using public and proprietary data sets, we first approximate the trucking capacity near FEMA's warehouses. We develop intuitive metrics that guide practitioners to make decisions, understand trade‐offs in complex networks, and negotiate contracts. We show that when optimizing inventory, ignoring trucking capacity can lead to up to 18% higher response times. In discussions with FEMA, our research has guided strategic inventory deployment and has been a catalyst in a new initiative for transportation contracting.

Construction and Performance Research of Reinforced Iron-Based Powder Metallurgy Materials Based on Phyllanthin as Drug Transport Carriers

Iron-based powder metallurgy materials are the largest type of powder metallurgy materials, mainly used in structural parts, bearings, and friction materials. Iron-based powder metallurgy materials have a series of advantages such as low cost, good machinability, good weldability, and heat treatment. In recent years, the enhanced iron-based powder metallurgy materials based on lavender elements have become a hot spot in the development of material transportation carriers. In order to study the effects of different hot pressing and sintering temperatures on the density, microstructure, and hardness of the enhanced iron-based powders of caladium, we conducted related studies on the structure core properties of the enhanced iron-based powders of caladium to explore whether it can be used as a drug transport carrier. The research results show that hot pressing sintering can make the powder achieve high densification at lower temperature and shorter cycle, especially in the preparation of difficult-to-form and sintered powder metallurgy materials with unique advantages.

Review: Traveling Black: A Story of Race and Resistance, by Mia Bay

Review: <i>Traveling Black: A Story of Race and Resistance</i>, by Mia Bay

Accumulation of Sulfonic Acid Groups Anchored in Covalent Organic Frameworks as an Intrinsic Proton-Conducting Electrolyte.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a novel class of crystalline porous polymers, which possess high porosity, excellent stability, and regular nanochannels. 2D COFs provide a 1D nanochannel to form the proton transport channels. The abovementioned features afford a powerful potential platform for designing materials as proton transportation carriers. Herein, the authors incorporate sulfonic acid groups on the pore walls as proton sources for enhancing proton transport conductivity in the 1D channel. Interestingly, the sulfonic acid COFs (S-COFs) electrolytes being binder free exhibit excellent proton conductivity of ≈1.5 × 10-2 S cm-1 at 25 ℃ and 95% relative humidity (RH), which rank the excellent performance in standard proton-conducting electrolytes. The S-COFs electrolytes keep the high proton conduction over the 24 h. The activation energy is estimated to be as low as 0.17eV, which is much lower than most reported COFs. This research opens a new window to evolve great potential of structural design for COFs as the high proton-conducting electrolytes.

Scheduled service network design with revenue management considerations and an intermodal barge transportation illustration

The objective of the paper is to study the integration of revenue management considerations into service network design models targeting the tactical planning of intermodal consolidation-based freight transportation carriers. Revenue management strategies and mechanisms are broadly used within passenger transportation. Although identified as a desirable feature for freight transportation, interest growing within the industry, few contributions have addressed the topic. Moreover, almost none of those target the challenging issue of the interactions between the planning of the carrier’s services and operations, on the one hand, and the revenue-management strategy it could implement, on the other hand. We propose a new scheduled service network design model with resource and revenue management model, which selects the services and schedule to be repeatedly operated over the next season, allocates and routes the main resources supporting the selected services, and routes the demand flows between their respective origins and destinations. The objective of the model is the maximization of the expected net revenue of the carrier when several customer categories, with specific service requirements, as well as several tariff and operation classes are considered. Our interest goes beyond the modeling challenges raised by the problem setting, to exploring the impacts of this new approach on the decision types and on the structure of the service network solutions obtained. The results of extensive experiments, in terms of demand distribution, network topology, fare class and quality-of-service, provide a proof of concept of the proposed modeling framework and its capability for insightful analyses. Experimentation was conducted using an off-the-shelf software to solve the corresponding mixed-integer linear programming formulation for realistically dimensioned barge intermodal transportation instances.

Blockchain applications in humanitarian logistics

Disaster relief is a key aspect of humanism and humanitarian actions. The delivery of adequate supplies at the right time and right place is critical for survival and recovery of the affected people, animals, plants and other entities. Since every dollar counts towards saving a life, the traceability of the shipments must be ensured, and the organisations involved in the process need to be aware of the delivered items to avoid duplication of relief efforts. Responsive, efficient and transparent supply chains have been difficult to build and execute as many disasters occur in underdeveloped or developing countries with poor infrastructure, corruption and other challenges. This paper explores the application of blockchain technologies to create a database ledger that can assure traceability and reliability and also avoid duplication. The use of ‘smart contracts’, which can be automatically executed in a blockchain, to promote transparency in contracts and performance and the movement of money across all parties is also studied. Large organisations such as the United Nations (UN) or the World Health Organization (WHO), which often take the lead in organising the relief efforts, can initiate the development of blockchains for humanitarian logistics and draw manufacturers, transportation carriers, other logistics providers, banks and other partners into the blockchain network. Assuring both the aid donors and the recipients that the funds have been used wisely and transparently will expand future aid contributions and enable more effective relief to disaster areas. This is especially critical now as climate changes on our planet are expected to result in more disasters with extremely dire consequences, especially in poorer regions of the world.

Comparison of Transportation Carriers in the Insulating Materials for HVDC Cable Joint

As an interface between the different insulating polymers exists in the joints of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cables, the differences in the field-and-temperature dependence of the conductivities of the materials is regarded as a problem leading to interface charge accumulation and field distortion. In this report, using blocking materials to prevent charge injection from one or both sides of the electrodes, the contributions of charge injection and ionization in low-density polyethylene (LDPE), cross-linked polyethylene with nanoparticles (nano-XLPE) and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) are distinguished and evaluated based on the results from pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) method. It is found that the contributions of charge injection and ionization behave differently in different materials. The mechanism behind the field-and-temperature dependences of the conductivities of the three materials is explained successfully. This study helps to clarify the charge transfer mechanism, and thus supports the quantitative calculation of the space charge and electric field distribution in cable joints.

The route problem of multimodal transportation with timetable under uncertainty: multi-objective robust optimization model and heuristic approach

The uncertainty of transportation duration between nodes is an inherent characteristic and should be concerned in the routing optimization of the multimodal transportation network to guarantee the reliability of delivery time. The interval number is used to deal with the uncertainty of transportation duration, and the multi-objective robust optimization model is established which covers the transportation duration and the cost. To solve the combinatorial optimization problem of this study, Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) is designed, which integrates the (μ + λ) selection method elite retention and the external filing elite retention. Our findings verify the efficiency of the proposed approach by analyzing the diversity, distribution and convergence of the frontier solutions. Finally, near-optimal solutions are obtained with the proposed algorithm in the numerical example. The present study can provide decision reference for multimodal transportation carriers in making transportation plan under uncertainty.

Re-shaping global-ness by spending overseas: Analysis of emerging Chinese consumption abroad

In most urban network studies, advanced producer service firms and transportation carriers are regarded as the main agents building intercity connections. With rising global incomes and increasing mobility of people worldwide, however, flows consisting of ordinary consumers have become a new way for cities to be connected to the globe. Using transaction data from China UnionPay, this paper explores the spatial network pattern of emerging Chinese overseas consumption by tracing the origins, destinations, and volumes of spending flows. We find that a global network built on consumption flows originating from mainland China improves the global-ness of countries and regions that have historically been peripheral in the financial networks created by multinational firms or inter-port transportation. Given the soaring consumption capacity of urban Chinese residents and the re-orientation of urban policies in China, it is expected that Chinese consumption will keep re-shaping the global-ness of both Chinese cities and numerous destinations worldwide.

Carbon footprint in the annual statements of Polish mass passenger transportation carriers

Purpose: Environmental protection constitutes an important challenge for 21st-century civilization and stakeholders not only expect financial statements that describe an entity numerically, but they also want additional, non-financial/descriptive data that presents the impact of the business operations on the natu-ral environment.The main objective of the study was to verify whether the financial statements and man-agement board reports on the activities of Polish mass passenger transportation carriers contain infor-mation on the impact of their activities on the environment, and in particular, about the carbon footprint. Consequently, does the information contained allow for an objective assessment of the impact of mass passenger transportation carriers on the climate, and thus allow stakeholders to make decisions regarding the conclusion of business transactions with these companies? Methodology/approach: The following research methods were used in the study: a literature review, analysis of legal acts, a case study, and deduction and synthesis methods. Findings: On the example of the audited entities, it was found that current disclosures in the area on the impact of business activity on the natural environment of entities dealing with mass passenger transportation are not satisfactory. Originality/value: The article is part of a scientific discussion on the growing importance of financial and non-financial disclosures regarding the impact of business activity on the natural environment.

Exploring the differential roles of environmental and social sustainability in carrier selection decisions

Growing interest surrounds how sustainable practices can be incorporated into a company's supply base. A growing stream of research has examined how companies can incorporate “green” criteria into their supplier selection decisions. This research focuses on a specialized supplier selection decision: transportation carriers. Trucking companies in particular are under pressure to reduce their environmental footprint and improve working conditions for their drivers. As such, the purpose of this research is to explore how carriers' environmental and social sustainability performance influence shippers' selection decisions and trust perceptions. Two scenario-based experiments were conducted to understand whether shippers incorporate the environmental and social sustainability performance of carriers into the selection decision. The carrier selection decision was characterized by a long-term arrangement in study one and a short-term arrangement in study two, and both studies controlled for the economic dimension so that the distinct effects of the social and environmental dimensions could be isolated. The results find that environmental and social dimensions of sustainability play differential roles in short-term and long-term carrier selection decisions, with environmental dimensions playing a more significant role in long-term selection decisions and social dimensions playing a more significant role in short-term selection decisions. The findings offer a more nuanced theoretical understanding of sustainable carrier selection decisions and practical guidance for practitioners and policymakers.

Online Experience in Last-Mile Delivery and Future Purchase Intentions in Pakistan: The Role of Customer Satisfaction

In the new market environment, customer experience has become a source of competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of post-purchase logistic services on customer satisfaction and future purchase decision in Pakistan. For this, we modified the Cao et. al. (2018) model and established the empirical validity of Pakistani customers. We proposed that customers’ overall online experience affects the customers' perception of logistical services of last-mile delivery. They included Availability of Final Delivery Facilities (AFDF), Return (R), Shipping (S), and Tracking (T). These logistic services would enhance customer satisfaction (CS), which would in turn affect Future Purchase Intention (FPI). Using a validated survey instrument, 200 respondents in Karachi are collected who do online shopping. The research model is analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The structural equation analysis of the study found that online experiences positively affect all four logistic experiences, each of these four has a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction, and onwards to future purchase intention. Hence, the positive effect of online experience on FPI is positively mediated by R, S, T, and AFDF, in the first order, then by CS in the second order. Hence, the understanding of last-mile delivery enhances the relationship here between perception and the efficiency of the customer's online shopping experience as well as the satisfaction of customers. Technology has provided a greater degree of importance to the end-user sector for transportation carriers.

Note: Determinants of Cargo Port Choices by Cargo Port Service Providers

The cargo port choice literature has investigated cargo port choices by users of cargo port services, i.e., by shippers in having their cargo and by transportation carriers in having their ships and vehicles serviced by a cargo port, but little attention has been given to cargo port choices by providers of cargo port services. This paper investigates cargo port choices by providers of cargo port services, i.e., by port: (1) operators, (2) shipper agents (freight forwarders and third-party logistics providers) (3) harbor pilots, (4) tugboat operators, (5) shipping line agents and (6) customs brokers.

Enhanced Dynamic Discretization Discovery for the Continuous Time Load Plan Design Problem

For less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation carriers, as shipment sizes are small relative to trailer capacity, profitability is driven by the ability to load trailers with shipments from multiple customers. However, LTL carriers are facing increased pressure from customers to provide short delivery times, which limits their ability to hold freight, a critical tactic for consolidation. As consolidation requires the coordination of shipment paths in both space and time, shorter delivery times necessitate planning methods that can accurately estimate consolidation opportunities in time. This paper adapts and enhances the dynamic discretization discovery method designed for solving the scheduled service network design problem, defined on an arbitrarily fine discretization of time, to produce exact and heuristic methods for the LTL analog, the continuous time load plan design problem. With instances from the literature and based on data from a U.S. LTL carrier, we provide computational evidence that the algorithm can effectively solve this problem. With an analysis of high-quality solutions to the instances based on LTL carrier data, we derive insights into terminal staffing policies.

Solution techniques for the inter-modal pickup and delivery problem in two regions

This work addresses the routing problem faced by transportation carriers and postal services that transport small parcels in large quantities. By splitting the territory into regions, these service providers can adapt a three-part network structure and solve a pickup and delivery problem with long-hauls without direct shipments between regions. That is, bilateral cross-city and cross-country requests must be met while also fulfilling capacity and time window constraints. To address this challenge, this work limits the problem to two regions and thereby can identify the correlations and synchronization between different modes. The proposed solution approach decomposes the problem into two subproblems: a long-haul assignment that can be solved exactly, and a short-haul routing problem that must be solved heuristically. The result is an efficient matheuristic, whose quality is confirmed through a comparison with findings from previous literature; it is viable in terms of solution quality and computation time. Long-haul flexibility also influences short-haul routing cost, such that improvements of up to 22% are possible merely by increasing long-haul flexibility but not long-haul cost. Finally, realistic instances are solved based on the inter-library loan system comparing the influence of selecting train or truck on the SH routing costs.

Analysis of the public transport utilization in Lublin

Proper public transport vehicles utilization is a key factor in effective and efficient communication in every city. Number of vehicles in use at any point in time is crucial piece of information to both transportation organizers and carriers, since it allows for control and reaction in case of an emergency. This article presents an analysis of public transport vehicles utilization in regard to day of the week and carriers responsible for public transport in Lublin.

Collision Avoidance in Multiple-Ship Situations by Distributed Local Search

As vital transportation carriers in trade, ships have the advantage of stability, economy, and bulk capacity over airplanes, trucks, and trains. Even so, their loss and cost due to collisions and other accidents exceed those of any other mode of transportation. To prevent ship collisions many ways have been suggested, e.g., the 1972 COLREGs which is the regulation for preventing collision between ships. Technologically speaking, many related studies have been conducted. The term “Ship domain” involves that area surrounding a ship that the navigator wants to keep other ships clear of. Ship domain alone is not sufficient, however, for enabling one or more ships to simultaneously determine the collision risk for all of the ships concerned. Fuzzy theory is useful in helping ships avoid collision in that fuzzy theory may define whether collision risk is based on distance to closest point of approach, time to closest point of approach, or relative bearing – algorithms that are difficult to apply to more than one ships at one time. The main purpose of this study is thus to reduce collision risk among multiple ships using a distributed local search algorithm (DLSA). By exchanging information on, for example, next-intended courses within a certain area among ships, ships having the maximum reduction in collision risk change courses simultaneously until all ships approach a destination without collision. In this paper, we introduce distributed local search and explain how it works using examples. We conducted experiments to test distributed local search performance for certain instances of ship collision avoidance. Experiments results showed that in most cases, our proposal applies well in ship collision avoidance amongmultiple ships.