International Journal of Production Research | 2019
Modelling and analysis of sustainable freight transportation
Abstract
Globalisation, elimination of trade barriers, lower tariffs, and industrial revolutions along with technological advancement, have changed the way for freight transportation. Trade-related international freight is expected to grow by a factor of 4.3 by 2050 (compared with 2010) with patterns also shifting: one-third of trade in 2050 will occur among developing economies. While opportunities abound with a growing population, increased consumption rates, new e-commerce players in the market, just-in-delivery supply chains, and reverse logistics, there is an untapped potential in the freight transport sector. The US Department of Transportation (US DOT) has reported transportation as the second largest source of carbon emissions. In the context of EU, the freight transport sector is causing environmental damage due to inefficiency (40–60% empty haulage), redundant trips, lack of synchronisation between transport modes and lack of ability to deal with disruption and risks. On the other hand, developing countries such as India or China face severe challenges of congested roads, disruption due to unexpected events, low utilisation of fleet capacity, poor infrastructure, congested and inefficient ports, inability to meet new demand due to prefixed routes and high noise and air pollution. There is a growing need than ever before for logistics and freight transport sector to incorporate sustainability measures into their operations, as the current processes have a negative impact on the environment and quality of life. In this framework, the development and availability of analytical models and decision support tools can help organisations make more effective and informed decisions. In the recent past, IJPR has published many seminal works in the area of sustainable supply chains. Among a wide array of supply chains and logistics activities, the most visible and environmentally damaging element is extensive freight transportation, which has thus received a lot of attention from the researchers. Taticchi et al. (2015) have suggested the need for integrated performance frameworks with new generation decision-support tools incorporating a triple bottom line (TBL) approach for managing sustainable supply chains. Hall, Matos, and Silvestre (2012) have argued why firms should include sustainable development considerations in supply chains. Fahimnia et al. (2015) investigated the impacts of carbon pricing on manufacturing and distribution planning decisions by presenting a trade-off of supply chain models. Kengpol and Tuammee (2016) developed a decision-support framework (DSF) to assess quantitative risk in multimodal green logistics. In today’s context, it is undeniable that freight transport sector needs to move from its traditional objective of minimising total operational costs to a broader picture of sustainability. Therefore, it is imperative to develop models that embrace good business sense while catering to the needs of people, prosperity, environment, and sustainability. The ever-growing use of Internet of Things (IoT) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) technologies can be an enabler in making a smart real-time decision in the field of freight transportation. This urges the researchers to focus on developing data-driven decision-making models for the integration of multiple modes of transportation or multiple service providers in the freight network. We, therefore, believe it is worthwhile to create a special issue on the topic of Modelling and Analysis of sustainable Freight Transportation. We invited original contributions from researchers and industry professionals that investigate the challenges and rewards associated with modelling and analysis of the design and management of sustainable freight transportation. We encouraged analytical and optimisation modelling efforts that explore sustainability-freight transportation relationship and real-world applications. This Special Issue on Modelling and Analysis of sustainable freight transportation covers all aspects of design and analysis of freight transportation model in supply chains decision-making, such as: · Data-driven modeling for market segmentation and forecasting · Policy formulation for transport prices, congestion pricing, carbon pricing, taxation · Mathematical modelling and innovative solution methodology for restructuring the physical logistics network · Intelligent transportation systems · Multi-objective optimisation for reducing Carbon Footprint in freight transport