Dynamic modelling of container transport modes between inland terminals and seaports

Lingyun Zhou¹, Youheng Huang²

¹School of Traffic Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian City, Jiangsu Province, China, 223003

²School of Transportation and Logistics, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha City, Hunan Province, China, 410004

Container transport has played an important role in international trade. This paper mainly focuses on the container transport modes selection between inland terminals and seaports through a comprehensive comparison of multiple decision factors. According to the multi-object fuzzy mathematics decision-making theory and the container transport processes, the main factors influencing the container transportation mode decision are analyzed. Moreover, a fuzzy decision model of container transport modes between inland terminals and seaports is built by introducing varied weight factors. Thereafter, the proposed model for the final selection of container transport modes between Changsha city and Shanghai harbor is demonstrated through an illustrative example. The results of this example indicate that the model can reflect dynamically importance degrees of related decision factors and different demands of decision makers, and this approach provides a more accurate, effective, and systematic decision support tool for the optimized intermodal mode selection between inland terminals and seaports.