Cooperatives for fruits and vegetables in emerging countries: Rationalization and impact of decentralization

We develop a (noncooperative) game theoretic model for a decentralized setting wherein fringe farmers compete with a two-tier cooperative network involving network farmers and a coordinator. We examine the roles of the coordinator and profit sharing in allocating costs/benefits of externalities in enhancing network efficiency and stability. Our main finding is that using profit sharing based mechanism the coordinator can overcome inherent inefficiency and instability of decentralization and noncooperative behavior of the network farmers. The roles of the coordinator and profit sharing are particularly important when it is economical for both network and fringe farmers to supply the product.     

Competition and cooperation between high-speed rail and air transportation services in Europe

New high-speed rail (HSR) lines may have an enormous influence on the provision of air services. The attention has been devoted to competition between both transportation modes but in some cases HSR services may also have an intermodal complementary role with air transportation. By taking a supply oriented empirical analysis, we study the impact of HSR on air service frequencies and seats offered by airlines in large European countries. We emphasize the distinction between routes with and without a hub airport as an endpoint and we also examine the influence of the location of the HSR station. We generally find direct competition between HSR and airlines, but we also provide some evidence that HSR can provide feeding services to long haul air services in hub airports, particularly in hub airports with HRS stations.     

Game theory-based identification of facility use restrictions for the movement of hazardous materials under terrorist threat

Government agencies can determine which specific facilities in a transportation network to restrict for each class of material and for which times of the day and/or week to stem the consequences of a terrorist event. To guide in making these determinations, this paper develops a three-player game of the interactions among a government agency, a carrier, and a terrorist. It also develops an effective solution procedure for this game and illustrates the use of that procedure on a realistic case study based on the freight rail network in the continental United States.     

Supply chain network competition in price and quality with multiple manufacturers and freight service providers

In this paper, we develop both static and dynamic supply chain network models with multiple manufacturers and freight service providers competing on price and quality. The manufacturers compete with one another in terms of price and quality of the product manufactured, whereas the freight service providers compete on price and quality of the transportation service they provide for multiple modes. Both manufacturers and freight service providers maximize their utilities (profits) while considering the consequences of the competitors’ prices and quality levels. Bounds on prices and quality levels are included that have relevant policy-related implications. The governing equilibrium conditions of the static model are formulated as a variational inequality problem. The underlying dynamics are then described, with the stationary point corresponding to the variational inequality solution. An algorithm which provides a discrete-time adjustment process and tracks the evolution of the quality levels and prices over time is proposed, and convergence results given. Numerical examples illustrate how such a supply chain network framework, which is relevant to products ranging from high value to low value ones, can be applied in practice.     

A study on pricing and delivery strategy for e-retailing systems

This study investigates the dynamics between price and lead time for an e-retailing system in which one of its commodities is offered by two duopolistic suppliers. A Stackelberg game is formulated by considering the two suppliers as the leaders and the e-retailer as the follower. The proposed model assists the channel members in getting an equilibrium relationship in a competitive environment. The results suggest that when a supplier chooses a shorter lead time as the competitive strategy, the other supplier should choose a lower price for counteraction, and channel members should understand the characteristics of demand before promoting their commodities.     

Greening transportation fleets: Insights from a two-stage game theoretic model

The greening of organizational transportation fleets, especially trucks and automobiles, has gained increasing attention by companies in a variety of industrial sectors. The reasons for this concern and attention are due to regulatory and competitive pressures, but also increasing costs of fossil-fuels. Surprisingly the amount of research and modeling for fleet management overall has been rather limited, with the focus on managing green vehicle investments virtually non-existent. In this study we develop a two-stage game theoretic model that helps evaluate, from both policy and organizational perspectives, the implications of greening of transportation fleets. Various parameters are evaluated including factors such as innovations in green vehicle technology, levels of service differences, cost of fuel, adjusting tax policy, regulatory compliance requirements, and adaptation costs. This evaluation provides practical insights into actions that could be considered by regulators and organizations to encourage environmental investments.     

The potential of horizontal collaboration in airport ground freight services

Since the global economic crisis of 2007–2011, the increasingly dynamic and challenging air cargo market in Europe has forced freight forwarders to improve their performance. In addition to improving their internal transport efficiency, they have also started to look at previously unexplored opportunities for horizontal collaboration in landside airport transport. The aim of this study is to reveal the potential of air cargo transport collaboration on a horizontal level, i.e. between multiple freight forwarders within a single airport. Reviewing existing literature on horizontal collaboration, with a focus on the air cargo industry, we propose a conceptual framework for transport collaboration in the air cargo industry. Based on a comprehensive study on air cargo transport movements within Schiphol, using a simulation model based on company data of 10,747 shipments (6977 tons of cargo) for a period of 30 days, we find several interesting results. Our main finding is that horizontal collaboration can improve the transport performance, by maintaining a high frequency of transport movements and maintaining an acceptable throughput time for air cargo shipments, and at the same time reduce transport costs by up to 40%. For smaller freight forwarders, the frequency of transport deliveries can even increase, while still allowing them to improve the average load factor of transport movements.     

The impact of carbon emission fees on passenger demand and air fares: A game theoretic approach

The implementation of an environmental market-based measure on U.S. aviation industry is studied. Under this policy, each airline pays a carbon fee for the carbon dioxide emissions it generates. The impact on ticket prices and corresponding market shares is investigated via the joint estimation of an air travel demand model and an airlines' behavior model. In the demand model, aggregate air traffic data is used to determine the marginal effects of flight attributes that are specific to itinerary, airline and airport on market share. The airline's behavior model incorporates the carbon fee in the airline marginal cost. After the implementation of the carbon policy, the increased cost forces airlines to adjust ticket prices in order to maximize profits. The results obtained by the proposed model indicate a moderate price increase which strongly depends on the per tonne carbon price. Air travel demand falls from 2.4% to 21% depending on the carbon price level.     

包神铁路能力计算与瓶颈识别疏解研究

包神铁路基础设施不断完善,先进生产技术投入运用,已实现经济社会效益阶跃式发展,逐步成为神华煤炭运输通道的核心干线。包神铁路运能和运量矛盾突出,实时能力计算和瓶颈识别疏解亟待研究。采用分析计算法计算包神铁路能力,利用TDCS数据计算各区间通过的列车数量,车站咽喉区道岔、正线及到发线能力利用率等指标,识别和分析能力瓶颈,系统性地提出包神铁路能力瓶颈消解措施,为包神铁路运输能力科学利用和智能决策提供技术支持。     

Capacity factors of a mixed speed railway network

Fifty-four combinations of track network and speed differential are evaluated within a linear, discrete time network model that maximizes an objective function of train volume, delays, and idle train time. The results contradict accepted dispatching practice by suggesting that when introducing a priority, high-speed train onto a network, maximum network flow is attained when the priority train operates at maximum speed. In addition, increasing siding capacity at meeting points may offer a network capacity improvement comparable to partial double track.