Intermodal Infrastructure Investment Decisions and Linkage to Economic Competitiveness

This study proposes a mixed integer dynamic capacitated intermodal facility location model that incorporates downside risk management to facilitate the strategic intermodal facility investment decision-making process under uncertainty in commodity flow. A uncoordinated and/or myopic strategic intermodal facility investment planning approach may lead to inadequate or wasteful intermodal facility investment. To address limitations of such an approach, this study proposes a holistic system level approach for strategic intermodal facility investment planning. The proposed approach incorporates systematic and coordinated decision-making for strategic intermodal facility investment planning. The proposed methodology provides national-level policymakers with tools to develop policy and regulatory decisions. It also enables local and regional stakeholders to make coordinated, more informed investment decisions that maximize their investment potential. The intermodal facility location model with downside risk (IFLMD) can also be used to address several real-world issues in the design of the strategic intermodal facility investment plan, including: uncertainty in commodity flow due to different estimates of future international trade, changes in commodity flow distribution due to congestion, system-level congestion reduction, the impact of emerging infrastructure development on commodity flow distribution within the region of interest, and the impact of empty container repositioning cost on commodity flow distribution. The downside risk is incorporated in the proposed model to hedge the investment risk associated with commodity flow uncertainty due to different estimates of future international trade and different emerging infrastructure projects. Downside risk analysis is used to identify different intermodal facility investment plans that are consistent with different risk tolerance levels of system level strategic intermodal facility investment decision-makers or policy-makers. The obtained intermodal facility investment plans illustrate trade-offs between two objectives: minimizing expected system costs and reducing downside risk. To perform the downside risk analysis, different allowed system level downside risk values are considered.

• Record URL:
  http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/nextrans/assets/docs/161PUY2.2_Summary%20and%20Final%20Technical%20Report.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This research was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Purdue University

  School of Civil Engineering, 550 Stadium Mall Drive
  West Lafeyette, IN  United States  47907

  NEXTRANS

  Purdue University
  3000 Kent Avenue
  Lafayette, IN  United States  47906-1075

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Benedyk, Irina V
  • Peeta, Srinivas
  • Zheng, Hong
  • Guo, Yuntao
  • Iyer, Ananth V
• Publication Date: 2017-4-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 55p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commodity flow; Competition; Decision making; Infrastructure; Intermodal facilities; Intermodal transportation; International trade; Investments; Location; Mixed integer programming; Risk management; Uncertainty
• Uncontrolled Terms: Holistic approach
• Subject Areas: Economics; Freight Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01646177
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: NEXTRANS Project No. 161PUY2.2
• Contract Numbers: DTRT12-G-UTC05
• Files: UTC, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Sep 18 2017 9:58PM