Log Truck Value Analysis from Increased Rail Usage
Over the past several decades, the transportation of raw materials (logs) has increasingly shifted from the railway to trucks. However, the long-term sustainability of this shift is being questioned due to the shortage of truck drivers, fluctuation of fuel prices, and changes in hours of service law...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/6/677 |
| _version_ | 1797565413765152768 |
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| author | Sangpil Ko Pasi Lautala Kuilin Zhang |
| author_facet | Sangpil Ko Pasi Lautala Kuilin Zhang |
| author_sort | Sangpil Ko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Over the past several decades, the transportation of raw materials (logs) has increasingly shifted from the railway to trucks. However, the long-term sustainability of this shift is being questioned due to the shortage of truck drivers, fluctuation of fuel prices, and changes in hours of service laws. The industry is interested in the possibility to shift more logs back to the railway but the impact of such a shift on truckers has not been investigated. This study attempted to quantify the impact of such a change on the operations of log truckers by calculating time efficiency (percentage of daily hours of service for revenue activities) and value efficiency (average loaded versus total ton-kilometers per day) between a truck only and multimodal (truck/rail) alternatives. We used actual data from the forest products industry companies and truck performance data from an earlier study to investigate the impact through case studies in four different locations of the upper Midwest, US. The results of our analysis revealed that in three out of our four case studies, re-routing log movements through rail yard/siding improved the time efficiency and value efficiency. Finally, our sensitivity analysis found that increases in average truck speed and maximum hours or service had higher impact on multimodal transportation than in truck-only system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:11:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ddff0e3eb124068ae72603d99a895c4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:11:51Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ddff0e3eb124068ae72603d99a895c42023-11-20T03:41:21ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072020-06-0111667710.3390/f11060677Log Truck Value Analysis from Increased Rail UsageSangpil Ko0Pasi Lautala1Kuilin Zhang2Innovative Transport Policy Division, Korea Railroad Research Institute, 176 Railroad Museum Road, Uiwang-Si, Gyeonggi-do 16105, KoreaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 4993, USADepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 4993, USAOver the past several decades, the transportation of raw materials (logs) has increasingly shifted from the railway to trucks. However, the long-term sustainability of this shift is being questioned due to the shortage of truck drivers, fluctuation of fuel prices, and changes in hours of service laws. The industry is interested in the possibility to shift more logs back to the railway but the impact of such a shift on truckers has not been investigated. This study attempted to quantify the impact of such a change on the operations of log truckers by calculating time efficiency (percentage of daily hours of service for revenue activities) and value efficiency (average loaded versus total ton-kilometers per day) between a truck only and multimodal (truck/rail) alternatives. We used actual data from the forest products industry companies and truck performance data from an earlier study to investigate the impact through case studies in four different locations of the upper Midwest, US. The results of our analysis revealed that in three out of our four case studies, re-routing log movements through rail yard/siding improved the time efficiency and value efficiency. Finally, our sensitivity analysis found that increases in average truck speed and maximum hours or service had higher impact on multimodal transportation than in truck-only system.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/6/677transportationlogisticsmultimodalefficiencylong-distance |
| spellingShingle | Sangpil Ko Pasi Lautala Kuilin Zhang Log Truck Value Analysis from Increased Rail Usage Forests transportation logistics multimodal efficiency long-distance |
| title | Log Truck Value Analysis from Increased Rail Usage |
| title_full | Log Truck Value Analysis from Increased Rail Usage |
| title_fullStr | Log Truck Value Analysis from Increased Rail Usage |
| title_full_unstemmed | Log Truck Value Analysis from Increased Rail Usage |
| title_short | Log Truck Value Analysis from Increased Rail Usage |
| title_sort | log truck value analysis from increased rail usage |
| topic | transportation logistics multimodal efficiency long-distance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/6/677 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sangpilko logtruckvalueanalysisfromincreasedrailusage AT pasilautala logtruckvalueanalysisfromincreasedrailusage AT kuilinzhang logtruckvalueanalysisfromincreasedrailusage |