Payload Distributions for Predominant Axle Configurations and Truck Body Types

A truck’s body type and axle configuration provide indications of the commodities that the truck could be used to haul, which in turn influence the truck’s payload. From a truck traffic monitoring perspective, there is an opportunity to enhance the value of existing data to support freight planning activities, provided that a better understanding of the relationships between axle configuration, truck body type, and payload can be established. This paper extends an existing methodology to characterize payload distributions and calculate mean payloads for 14 predominant axle configuration – body type pairs evident from data collected in Manitoba, Canada. The methodology, which applies a Gaussian mixture model, uniquely distinguishes between empty and partially-loaded trucks. The results demonstrate that, regardless of axle configuration, the load distributions for trucks with van, flat deck, and container body types comprise trucks with gross vehicle weights throughout the available weight range, reflecting the diversity of commodities being hauled. In contrast, trucks with dump, hopper, and tanker body types, which typically haul heavy, bulk commodities, tend to travel either fully-loaded or empty. Comparisons with findings reported in the literature reveal that mean tare weights may be insensitive to jurisdiction-specific industrial and regulatory conditions. However, considering mean payloads, the comparisons provide evidence that the availability of a variety of axle configurations enables carriers to select trucks well-suited to their freight transport task. This finding emphasizes the need for jurisdiction-specific estimates of mean payloads and supports better understanding of the relative influence of industries on a highway network.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ABJ00 Section - Data and Information Systems.
• Authors:
  • Maranchuk, Kristopher
  • Vanderwees, Jared
  • Hernandez, Sarah
  • Regehr, Jonathan D
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 7p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Axle load force; Axles; Freight transportation; Gross vehicle weight; Motor vehicle bodies; Tractor trailer combinations; Traffic surveillance; Transportation planning
• Uncontrolled Terms: Gaussian model; Payload
• Geographic Terms: Manitoba
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Freight Transportation; Highways; Motor Carriers; Planning and Forecasting; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01657506
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-02737
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jan 24 2018 9:24AM