Truck Terminals Research Articles

Research on the effect of number of yard trucks on container terminal throughput

Container terminal productivity is a benchmark for the level of effectiveness of a container port. One indicator of container terminal productivity level can be calculated through yard throughput. Several factors affect yard throughput, one of which is the number of truck terminals. This study aims to investigate the effect of the number of truck terminals on yard throughput at a container terminal. The investigation was conducted using a container terminal simulation which was based on the discrete event simulation method. As a case study, a simulation of a container terminal with a dock length of 300 m with several quay cranes was two units. The simulation was done by parameters adding the number of truck terminals and variations in the capacity of ships coming. The results of the simulation show that an increase in the number of truck terminals affects the number of outputs, depending on the size of the loading and unloading vessels. From the simulation results obtained, the largest yard throughput capacity of 809 containers with the number of truck terminals is 8 units on a shipload of 1,000 twenty-foot equivalent units. The results of this study provide an overview of the needs of the truck terminal in the container terminal. Highlights The yard throughput of the container terminal has been investigated by a simulation model built based on a discrete event simulation The discrete event simulation has obtained the effect of increasing the number of truck terminals on the yard throughputs with container capacity variations from 200 - 1,000 TEUs The increase in speed at the truck terminal is insignificant to increase yard throughput and necessary to do integrated scheduling between the truck terminals, quay cranes, and gantry cranes The increase in the quay crane operation in container terminals will decrease the dwell time of container throughput

Modeling Truck Parking Demand at Commercial and Industrial Establishments

In urban areas, there exists a mismatch between where trucks need to park and the availability of spaces, forcing many truck drivers to park in undesignated locations that are unsafe, disrupt traffic, and cause a nuisance to the community. This mismatch also decreases the productivity of the sector, as drivers spend more time searching for spaces, take longer detours, and end their workday early. Most commercial and industrial establishments currently do not allow trucks to park at their facilities beyond the loading or unloading of cargo, which generates parking demand in the surrounding areas. This paper quantifies the truck parking requirements of different commercial and industrial establishments in Phoenix, AZ, to inform land use and development decision-making. GPS data were combined with land use and employment data to identify where, when, and for how long trucks are parking. Parking rates were calculated at 2-digit and 3-digit NAICS level, for three parking metrics: stops per weekday, cumulative stop duration per weekday, and peak occupancy. Linear and negative binomial models were estimated, along with other types of models, to improve the prediction of parking demand. Results show that parking demand is the highest for establishments that store trucks overnight, such as truck terminals, and establishments with large in-house fleets. Parking demand is also high for establishments moving bulky commodities or having significant transportation needs, like in warehousing and the wholesale trade. Manufacturing establishments have a wide range of parking demand rates, based on the bulkiness of products and use of in-house fleets.

A Study of Freight Facility Location in Tokyo Metropolitan and its Future

Transition of domestic freight transportation volume has been tending to decrease in Japan, however the transaction of freight is increasing due to the growth of trading via internet. Logistics industry in Japan has been approaching a great period of change nowadays, which can be seen in the appearance of mega distribution centers, expanding to suburban areas of Tokyo metropolitan. There has been various research relating to identify location factors of freight facility, however it is known that location choice theory has complicated background. The goal of this research is to explore the location factors of freight facility and to forecast the high potential location area after the completion of Ken-O Expressway, using the data of Tokyo Metropolitan Region Freight Survey which was conducted in 2014. Applying the Logit Model and data aggregation, location of mega distribution centers and truck terminals have different features which can be explained by several factors.

Causes of Truck and Cargo Drivers’ Fatigue in Bangladesh

In recent studies, it has been observed that fatigue is one of the major factors contributing to fatal accidents in Bangladesh. It is increasing tremendously and alarmingly and causing the huge loss of lives and assets. In Bangladesh, heavy vehicle drivers are susceptible to frequent fatigue related accidents, thus increasing disability and social and economic vulnerability. The study aims to identify truck drivers’ causes of fatigue and other physical, socio-psychological and economic consequences on the drivers. The study was conducted during January-June 2012 in the different truck and cargo terminals of Dhaka city in Bangladesh. A total of 400 drivers were chosen purposively. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews and focused group discussion methods. The study indicates that the reasons behind fatigue led injuries were the driver’s consistent working pressure, longer non-stop driving, traffic congestions, driving in drunk condition, inadequate facilities of physical and mental rests, family conflicts and long detachment from family care, owners and drivers ill relationship, harassments by police, job insecurity and income frustrations etc. The study showed that above 83% of the drivers directly or indirectly suffered from fatigue related problems. The study showed that pressure from owners and businessmen and lack of mal-nutrient food consumption were the leading causes of fatigue. The owners’ and drivers’ associations, civil society, Government of Bangladesh (GOB), NGOs and development partners should address the fatal crisis by adopting appropriate interventions to reduce the said fatigue related accidents.

HIV/AIDS and the long-distance truck drivers in south-west Nigeria: A cross-sectional survey on the knowledge, attitude, risk behaviour and beliefs of truckers

According to the last HIV surveillance survey conducted in 2008, the overall National HIV prevalence in Nigeria stands at 4.6%. Recent studies and estimates by UNAIDS/WHO show higher prevalences in some selected states in Nigeria. The focus of this study is to determine the prevalence, risk behaviour, attitude and knowledge of HIV among long-distance heavy-truckers from a cross-sectional survey conducted in the south-west Nigeria. Four major truck terminals (devoted to long-distance trips) in south western Nigeria were identified. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a total sample size of 451 truckers who consented to be interviewed. A questionnaire (in English, Hausa and Yoruba languages) for data collection on the socio-demographic, risk behaviour, attitude and knowledge of HIV from the truckers was also designed. The multiple logistic regressions analysis was used to assess the association between some selected variables and factors. Only 164 (36.4%) participants out of the study population of 451 were tested for HIV (due to limited test facilities and consent) and the prevalence of HIV antibodies among the truckers was found to be 2.4% (4/164) with all the infected individuals being within 21-30 years of age. 309 (68.1%) of the respondents admitted that they were at risk of contracting HIV while a total of 249 (55.3%) admitted that they had more than one sexual partners. In addition, while 392 (86.9%) said it was important for them to know their HIV status, 88 (19.5%) said that they would commit suicide should they test positive for HIV. Although the HIV prevalence rate observed among the tested participants (2.4%) was lower than the overall national prevalence (4.6%), the result calls for concern as it showed that the population of truckers is a potential high risk group in Nigeria. Also, the mobile nature of this high-risk group has made getting HIV/AIDS awareness messages across to them a difficult task.

Measurement and analysis of truck transport vibration levels and damage to packaged tangerines during transit

The purpose of this study was to measure the vibration levels in commercial truck shipments in Thailand and observe the effects on packaged fruit. The study measured the vibration levels in two of the most commonly used truck types to ship packaged goods as a function of road condition and vehicle speed. The suspension type on the trailers studied was leaf-spring. The results of damage to packaged tangerine fruit as a function of location in the payload are also presented. The data presented in this study will assist product and package designers to reduce damage in transit. The results showed that vibration levels increased with speed and as a result of road condition. Analysis of variance indicated that three controlling factors, road surface, truck speed and truck type, significantly affected (p ≤ 0.05) peak PSD, PSD* (root mean square) over the frequency range 2–5 Hz, and fruit damage. As expected, based on previous work, an increase in truck speed resulted in an increase in vibration levels and damage to packaged fruit. The laterite road condition produced the highest vibration level for a given truck and travelling speed followed by concrete highway and asphalt road conditions. Fruit damage was found to be greatest in the uppermost container for every combination of road, truck type and travelling speed, which also corresponded to the highest vibration levels recorded. The results showed that a significant amount of damage can occur on unpaved roads (laterite), while the packages are transported from farms and harvesting areas to regional truck terminals. Damage on asphalt road conditions was minimal. This paper provides an updated history of measured and quantified levels of vibration for these specific trucks and road conditions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

MODELLING MULTIMODAL FREIGHT TRANSPORT NETWORK TOWARDS FREIGHT TERMINAL DEVELOPMENT

Efficient provision and suitable location of freight terminals such as ports, rail and truck terminals are necessary to establish a multimodal freight transport system. This paper proposed a model that can be used as a tool for strategic level of planning, particularly in freight terminal development. It presented a freight network assignment model that explicitly incorporates the various activities within the terminal taking into account not only freight flows but also passenger flows. Model application to actual transport network in Sumatra and Java, Indonesia revealed that the model adequately represents the freight network behaviour and sufficiently predicts the major freight flows in accordance with available data.

Identifying high-risk small business industries for occupational safety and health interventions.

Approximately one-third (32%) of U.S. workers are employed in small business industries (those with 80% of workers in establishments with fewer than 100 employees), and approximately 53 million persons in private industry work in small business establishments. This study was performed to identify small business industries at high risk for occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Small business industries were identified from among all three- and four-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes and ranked using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data by rates and numbers of occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Both incidence rates and number of injury, illness, and fatality cases were evaluated. The 253 small business industries identified accounted for 1,568 work-related fatalities (34% of all private industry). Transportation incidents and violent acts were the leading causes of these fatalities. Detailed injury and illness data were available for 105 small business industries, that accounted for 1,476,400 work-related injuries, and 55,850 occupational illnesses. Many of the small business industries had morbidity and mortality rates exceeding the average rates for all private industry. The highest risk small business industries, based on a combined morbidity and mortality index, included logging, cut stone and stone products, truck terminals, and roofing, siding, and sheet metal work. Identification of high-risk small business industries indicates priorities for those interested in developing targeted prevention programs.

Analysis of Spatial Organization of the Home Delivery Service System

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the spatial organization of the home delivery network system which organizes the entire area of Japan. Two major home delivery companies, Yamato Transport Co. Ltd. and Nippon Transportation Co. Ltd., were chosen as objects of investigation. We analysed the spatial organization of these home delivery service systems in Kanagawa Prefecture, which is adjacent to the Tokyo Metropolis. The eastern part of Kanagawa Prefecture, a part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, is a remarkably urbanized area, while the western part of it is less urbanized.The results of the analysis are summarized as follows:1) There is no difference in the principal organization between the above two companies. Both companies have a hierarchical functional organization. This is composed of three hierarchical functions: agency, collection and delivery establishment, and truck terminal as shown in Fig. 1.2) Consumers who use the home delivery service carry their loads to the agency as a rule. The agency functions as a lower order organization in direct contact with the consumer. The agency which is entrusted by a home delivery company is an existing establishment, such as a convenience store or a greengrocery. Therefore, we may say that the concept of threshold demand is not applicable to the location of the agency.3) The collection and delivery establishment (hereafter abbreviated as branch) is under direct management of the home delivery company. The branch organizes local space as a middle order function in the aspect of collection and as a lower order function in the aspect of delivery. To perform these functions, each branch has its territory.4) The branch site needs a considerably large area. We may say that this causes difficulty in acquisition of desirable branch sites in urbanized areas. As the demand for home delivery service rises, it becomes necessary to increase the number of branches. The reason for the above is that enlargement of the branch site at the existing location is practically impossible. If the enlargent of existing branches were possible, many branches as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 would be unnecessary for the present home delivery system.5) Truck terminals are the nodes of inter-region transportation and organize the region as a higher order function in the home delivery system. Each truck terminal also has its territory.The relations between the concepts of central place theory and the spatial oraganization of the home delivery system in Kanagawa Prefecture may be summarized as follows:We may say that the concepts of central place theory, that is, threshold demand and upper limit of range of goods, are applicable to the framework for theoreical location of home delivery organizations. However, there are great disparities between the real organization and the theoretical organization. For example, the number of branches is more than that expected in the theoretical considerations.The significant factors influencing the above disparity are the difficulty of acquisition of desirable spaces for the locations in urbanized areas and the competition between the companies for the market.Furthermore, we may point out that the home delivery service system functions perfectly when the system organizes the total area. This means that the profit of the each establishment is insignificant. The concepts of central place theory originally should be applicable to the location of profit motivated individual establishments. The spatial organization of the home delivery network system cannot be fully explained only by the concepts of the central place theory, because the establishments belonging to a network system function as elements of the system.

Issues and Problems of Moving Goods in Urban Areas

There is a multitude of issues and problems involving the movement of goods in urban areas. These deserve careful attention of urban‐transportation planners and engineers. Nevertheless many of these problems continue without much debate because their real costs are not well perceived, and because the actors/parties involved are not vocal. A critical need at this time is to raise the awareness of all actors/parties involved with urban goods movement (UGM). This paper presents an overview of the characteristics of urban goods movement and its major problems and issues. The major topics addressed are: movement of trucks along urban roads and through intersections; loading and unloading of trucks in central business district (CBD) and non‐CBS areas; and truck terminals and stops. The paper does not attempt to present planning tools and strategies for solving UGM problems, although citations of selected sources of information have been made, and these sources have useful guidelines for planning and analysis. This paper would be useful to the planners and traffic engineers who have not had experience in dealing wtih UGM problems and issues, and the writers hope that it would encourage them to become involved with UGM planning.

A system model of primary truck route designation and terminals clustering

The impacts on the Chicago traffic system of introducing preferential truck routing and terminals clustering are simulated. By channelizing heavy truck flows along a subset of the region's major highways, and linking such routes to terminal clusters, a more economical as well as environmentally appealing urban goods movement system is being sought. A sample Year 2000 plan is described. The model is meant for strategic planning, and works on a partially aggregated sketch planning highway network.

Circuit-based indices of locational accessibility

Two circuit-based measures of relative spatial accessibility are derived from a synthesis of the spatial interaction and graph-theoretic approaches to measuring locational benefit. They offer a much better description of the locational accessibility pattern of urban truck terminals in Chicago than does a traditional Hansen-type index of direct interaction potential. They should be considered for further use where highly circuitous daily urban travel is the norm. In a more speculative vein, the use of such indices in multifacility location problems is considered. (Author/TRRL)

Truck Drivers' Jargon

THE DATA FOR THE PRESENT STUDY have been gathered from three sources.' The first is a publication of the American Trucking Association, in which a majority of the terms were found.2 The second is an article published in 1955, detailing the jargon of the truck driver at that time.3 The third is my own sociological study of truck drivers, for which I spent a great deal of time in participant observation.4 The data for my study were gathered through the use of three different research methods. A random sample of 150 union truck drivers in the New York metropolitan area was contacted by a mail questionnaire in the summer of 1969. Additional data were received from in-depth interviews held with drivers who had indicated on the questionnaire an interest in being interviewed. These interviews, held with twenty or so drivers, often lasted from six to eight hours. Finally, data were gathered in the participant observation phase of the research, during which I spent about a thousand hours hanging truck stops, truck garages, and truck terminals. In addition, I took a number of trips with drivers both locally (in and around the New York area) and long distance (from the New York area into the Midwest and as far as Battle Creek, Michigan). The interviews both in the formal interview situation and in the participant observation were focused rather than structured. I knew what I wanted to ask, and consequently I let the form of the questions be dictated by the situation in which I found myself. The lack of standardization is not crucial since every opportunity was taken to verify questionable data. Truck drivers' jargon appears to serve three distinct purposes: First, such jargon as or cackle crate enables the truck driver to express complexities without lengthy technical discussions. Second, such expressions as bobtailing a twin screw jimmy enable the truck driver to exclude from his conversation (whether consciously or not) those who are not truck drivers and