Integrated Mode Choice and Vehicle Routing for Container Transport

It is desirable to improve the efficiency of container transport both from an economical and an environmental point of view, as increased efficiency decreases costs and emissions per transported container. Modern transport schemes, such as synchromodal transport, use a-modal bookings to increase the flexibility of the transport providers where the mode choice can be postponed until all demand for a planning period is known. We show in this paper the impact of planning the routes of containers, and thus the mode choice, together with truck routing. The developed integrated container and truck routing model is compared to a two-stage model that represents current practice, where the route of the containers are decided upon assuming an unlimited amount of trucks are always available. The two models are compared on several simulated, hinterland scenarios. In all scenarios, integrated routing performs at least as well as the two-stage model in terms of cost and the benefits of integration are more evident when there is a limited amount of trucks available. Integration of the routing increases the utilization rate of trucks and, often, a smaller truck fleet is needed. The presented model, therefore, demonstrates a proof-of-concept with promising improvements towards efficiency and environmental sustainability.