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A proof of the relationship between optimal vehicle size, haulage length and the structure of distance-transport costs

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  • McCann, Philip

Abstract

This paper deals with two interrelated questions, namely the optimum size of a vehicle or vessel, and the structure of transport costs with respect to haulage distance. The relationship between these two questions has not been coherently dealt with previously in the literature, and the heuristic attempts at doing so have lead to both theoretical and empirical anomalies. This paper adopts an inventory optimisation approach in order to show that both of these questions can be treated in a unified manner and this allows us to show, first, that under very general conditions the optimum size of a ship increases with the haulage distance and haulage weight, and second, that the observed structure of transport costs with respect to the haulage distance and quantity is itself a result of this optimisation problem.

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  • McCann, Philip, 2001. "A proof of the relationship between optimal vehicle size, haulage length and the structure of distance-transport costs," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 671-693, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:35:y:2001:i:8:p:671-693
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    13. Maarten Bosker & Harry Garretsen, 2007. "Trade Costs, Market Access and Economic Geography: Why the Empirical Specification of Trade Costs Matters," CESifo Working Paper Series 2071, CESifo.
    14. Janic, Milan, 2008. "An assessment of the performance of the European long intermodal freight trains (LIFTS)," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 42(10), pages 1326-1339, December.
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    16. Euijune Kim & Seung‐Woon Moon & Yoojin Yi, 2021. "Analyzing spillover effects of development of Asian highway on regional growth of Northeast Asian countries," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 1243-1266, August.
    17. Yilmazkuday, Hakan, 2009. "Distribution of Consumption, Production and Trade within the U.S," MPRA Paper 16361, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Vinamra Chaturvedi, 2021. "Mostly electric assisted airplanes (MEAP) for regional aviation: A South Asian perspective," Papers 2103.13259, arXiv.org.
    19. Raphael Piendl & Martin Koning & François Combes & Gernot Liedtke, 2022. "Building latent segments of goods to improve shipment size modeling: Confirmatory evidence from France," Post-Print hal-04117547, HAL.
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