Green Vehicle Routing for Small Motor Carriers

Studies of structure and evolution in the European trucking industry have, possibly mistakenly, predicted the shakeout of small motor carriers and argued that only large carriers will be able to create value to shippers in the long run. This prediction is based on an essentially taken-for-granted premise that in the economic theory of industry evolution, the industry life cycle approach applies to the trucking industry. This article argues that it does, in fact, not apply well to this industry, which possesses characteristics that allow for quite different competitive dynamics. The argument is illustrated empirically by a case study of the Danish trucking industry in the 1990s. The study reveals that the Danish trucking industry moves towards increasingly organized markets with a few large carriers, some specialized and flexible small and medium-sized (SME) carriers with vertical and horizontal linkages, and many small carriers and independent owner-operators serving shippers and other carriers on a short-term basis. Adopting a knowledge-based perspective, the persistent coexistence of small, medium-sized, and large carriers can be attributed to the nature and dynamics of demand, the division of labor between different motor carriers, and changes in productive resources.

Studies of structure and evolution in the European trucking industry have, possibly mistakenly, predicted the shakeout of small motor carriers and argued that only large carriers will be able to create value to shippers in the long run. This prediction is based on an essentially taken-for-granted premise that in the economic theory of industry evolution, the industry life cycle approach applies to the trucking industry. This article argues that it does, in fact, not apply well to this industry, which possesses characteristics that allow for quite different competitive dynamics. The argument is illustrated empirically by a case study of the Danish trucking industry in the 1990s. The study reveals that the Danish trucking industry moves towards increasingly organized markets with a few large carriers, some specialized and flexible small and medium-sized (SME) carriers with vertical and horizontal linkages, and many small carriers and independent owner-operators serving shippers and other carriers on a short-term basis. Adopting a knowledge-based perspective, the persistent coexistence of small, medium-sized, and large carriers can be attributed to the nature and dynamics of demand, the division of labor between different motor carriers, and changes in productive resources.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare small and large motor carriers to determine whether small motor carriers serve a smaller, more concentrated customer base, have owners that are more involved in the customer relationship management process, and earn higher returns usually associated with niche market players.Design/methodology/approach – Responses from a US sample of 153 motor carrier managers are subjected to ANOVA comparing small, medium, and large motor carriers. Scale development procedures were employed and a construct measuring owner involvement in the customer relationship management process was developed.Findings – Small motor carriers have a more concentrated customer base, their owners are more involved in managing customer relationships, and they are paid higher rates per mile compared with large motor carriers.Research limitations/implications – This research was limited by its focus on the motor carrier industry and did not explicitly test a link between customer base concentr...

Economists have long argued against the regulation of motor carriers in the United States because the industry has been considered to be competitive in nature. Federal control of trucking has produced inefficiently high rates as well as costs. Advocates of regulatory reform have foreseen benefits accruing to shippers and consumers in general, as greater rate freedom, the entry of new firms, and the removal of regulatory constraints lead motor carriers to reduce costs [16] and lower prices [17]. Many of these projected benefits were premised on the perceived competitive market structure of the trucking industry. These perceptions have been largely supported by pre-deregulation cost studies of general freight carriers, which have found evidence of either constant returns to scale or diseconomies of scale. Friedlaender and Wang Chiang [8] find that for 20 interregional carriers over 1965-73, the typical firm operating at the sample mean is subject to mild scale diseconomies. In a subsequent study of multiproduct economies of scale using 1976 proprietary data, they [14] obtain the same basic results. The typical firm has constant returns to scale while the representative firm operates under moderate diminishing returns. Daughety, Nelson, and Vigdor [4] also find mild decreasing returns to scale for a panel of firms spanning 1953-58. In another study over 1974-79, Friedlaender and Bruce [6] find slight economies of scale for the typical firm. Based on simulations with the largest and smallest firms in their sample, they suggest that over time large carriers have become more characterized by scale economies and small carriers by scale diseconomies. However, their evidence is far from clear-cut. Given this conventional wisdom that the technology of the less-than-truckload segment of this industry was constant returns to scale before deregulation, few if any economists doubted the desirability of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. The purpose of this paper is to determine empirically whether the sweeping legislative changes were justified on solely economic grounds. It is possible that previous cost studies are biased as a consequence of the regulatory constraints facing the firms. Has deregulation itself corrected for distortions created by the regulatory environment, and thus produced changes in the production choices of trucking companies? Was Friedlaender and Spady's [7] contention that truckload carriers may have experienced regulatory rather than technology-based increasing returns to scale correct? If so, perhaps past results for general freight carriers are similarly due to regulation. However, in this case, the reason may be regulatory

Bus transport in the United States started in the second decade of this century when numerous entrepreneurs in all parts of the country operated local services between near-by communities using automobile sedans. Encouraged by their early success, ambitious pioneers built up longer networks by connecting their routes to those of like-minded venturers and by acquiring more reliable and comfortable vehicles. For those who could meet the requirements of state government regulations and withstand the competition from both railroads and other bus operators, prospects looked good. By the late 1920s the possibility of national lines suggested increased business; but the onset of the Great Depression forced reorganisation in the burgeoning and highly competitive industry. Many small carriers went out of business when passengers and revenue declined, while the larger companies had to restructure their operations to reduce costs at the same time as improving services. Federal regulation of motor carriers in the mid-1930s strengthened the position of surviving and larger companies who were able to retain their trade. By the end of the decade long-distance bus travel was established as a permanent and important part of the nation’s economy.KeywordsPassenger TrafficInterstate Commerce CommissionMotor CarrierUnited States Government PrintingElectric RailwayThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Many credible threats against hazardous materials (hazmat) transportation exist in the United States. This paper outlines the overall regulatory approach to hazmat transportation security by commercial motor carriers in the United States and focuses on the well-received training and outreach efforts that have been put in place to improve the overall level of security in the United States. In the post-September 11, 2001 (9/11), environment, safety-oriented agencies are being asked to accommodate a new role in the security arena. Many regulations affect the highway transportation of hazmat. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is primarily concerned with the enforcement of safety regulations, and the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) regulates hazmat transportation across all modes. Recently, RSPA implemented new requirements for security assessments and security plans. Because many motor carriers previously did not have much experience with security issues, the guidance provide...

Containerization has produced significant changes in the traffic of Canadian ports, reflecting both carrier and route characteristics. The formerly unified system of the St. Lawrence and its Maritime winter outports has been separated into two functionally distinct groups. Container shipping into the St. Lawrence is dominated by small carriers, calling only at Canadian ports, where they have private terminals. Sailings to Maritime ports are dominated by large carriers, serviced by common-user terminals, and deriving the bulk of their traffic from United States ports. On the west coast delay in providing adequate common-user facilities at Vancouver has resulted in substantial loss of container traffic to Seattle. The volume of Canadian container cargo reflects competition between Canadian and United States ports and their hinterland transport systems, the role of labor problems in influencing carriers' choice of port, and the nature of export commodities.

Mutual forbearance, the representativeness heuristic and airline safety

T HE MOTOR FREIGHT common carrier industry achieved a dominant role in the nation's transportation picture when its revenues in 1963 surpassed, for the first time, the freight revenues of the entire railroad industry. As the fastest growing regulated segment of surface freight transportation, the importance of the trucking industry promises to increase even further in the future. The trucking business is marked by extremely low concentration, with some 15,600 individual motor carriers participating in the $8.58 billion charges collected by industry in 1963 for intercity freight transportation. The largest single trucking entity-Consolidated Freightways-accounted for less than 1.5% of the trucking industry's 1963 revenues. In 1963 there were 1,175 registered Class I motor carriers (with annual revenues of over $1,000,000); some 2,533 Class II carriers (with annual revenues of more than $200,000), and 11,910 Class III carriers with revenues below $200,000. The 3,708 Class I and II motor carriers accounted for about 82% of the industry's total revenues. While the trucking industry is comprised of subdivisions engaged in specific services such as Household Goods Movers, Auto Transporters, Petroleum haulers, and Contract Carriage, the principal component is intercity transportation of General Freight. This discussion is directed primarily at motor common carriers of general freight and, more specifically Class I carriers, which generate about 50% of the industry's revenues, and about which some meaningful statistics are available. Most of the fifty publicly held motor carriers are engaged almost exclusively in the transportation of general freight.

Utilizing state hazardous materials transportation data in hazardous analysis

Distributed power generation—electricity generation that is produced by many small stationary power generators distributed throughout an urban air basin—has the potential to supply a significant portion of electricity in future years. As a result, distributed generation may lead to increased pollutant emissions within an urban air basin, which could adversely affect air quality. However, the use of combined heating and power with distributed generation may reduce the energy consumption for space heating and air conditioning, resulting in a net decrease of pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions. This work used a systematic approach based on land-use geographical information system data to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of distributed generation emissions in the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin of California and simulated the potential air quality impacts using state-of-the-art three-dimensional computer models. The evaluation of the potential market penetration of distributed generation focuses on the year 2023. In general, the air quality impacts of distributed generation were found to be small due to the restrictive 2007 California Air Resources Board air emission standards applied to all distributed generation units and due to the use of combined heating and power. Results suggest that if distributed generation units were allowed to emit at the current Best Available Control Technology standards (which are less restrictive than the 2007 California Air Resources Board standards), air quality impacts of distributed generation could compromise compliance with the federal 8-hr average ozone standard in the region. IMPLICATIONS The San Joaquin Valley is a fast growing region that demands increasing power generation to sustain the economic development, and at the same time it is one of the worst polluted areas in the United States. Hence, the region demands alternatives that minimize the air quality impacts of power generation. This paper addresses the air quality impacts of distributed generation of power, an alternative to central power generation that can potentially reduce greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions throughout the United States.

The European Clean Vehicle Directive was introduced in 2009 to create an obligation on public authorities to take into account the impact of energy consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and pollutant emissions into their purchasing decisions for road transport vehicles. This should stimulate the market for clean and energy-efficient vehicles and improve transport's impact on environment, climate change and energy use. Therefore the so-called ‘Operational Lifetime Cost’ of a vehicle is calculated, divided into the cost for energy consumption, CO2 and pollutant (nitrous oxide, particulate matter, non-methane hydrocarbons) emissions. In Belgium, a different methodology has been developed to calculate the environmental impact of a vehicle, called ‘Ecoscore’, based on a well-to-wheel approach. More pollutants are included compared to the Clean Vehicle methodology, but also indirect emissions are taken into account. In this paper, both methodologies are compared and used to analyze the environmental performance of passenger cars with different fuel types and from different vehicle segments. Similar rankings between both methodologies are obtained; however, the large impact of energy use (and CO2 emissions) in the Clean Vehicle methodology disadvantages compressed natural gas cars, as well as diesel cars equipped with particulate filters, compared to the Ecoscore methodology.

This article uses a method combining analysis of Web site content with the constant comparison process from grounded theory to investigate the value propositions offered by 100 U.S. motor carriers. Using the selling messages of the Web site for these firms, coupled with follow-up interviews, we found that the basic motor carrier value proposition is developed around the four themes of time, place, value management, and value-add. In addition we found underlying capabilities (e.g., type equipment, technology, reliability) that carriers suggest are required to create those value proposition themes. These messages serve an important role in differentiating a firm's offering in a commodity business, like the U.S. motor carrier industry, where price is not a distinguishing factor in most cases. Our findings suggest that many of the sampled firms attempt to avoid price-based commoditization through the value propositions they project.

The inclusion of aviation into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) may have more surprises in store for small and medium-sized carriers than those airlines will appreciate. It is not the large international carriers with their climate change managers and environmental departments that have EU ETS on their agenda for years but, in particular, third country carriers or companies in business aviation that might get hit harder than others. Compliance with the new set of rules and procedures will be a challenge and the prework dimension should not be underestimated. Unfortunately, the time frame is tight and the policymakers and its administration do not seem to be too expeditious when it comes to enacting the necessary laws, regulations, and guidelines and providing the support the industry is requesting. On the other hand, the potential of the EU ETS concerning a distortion of competition, in particular, for European carriers, is not determined yet. It is feared that traffic from the United States to Asia will switch routes via the Gulf States, that is, not touching European airports and thus avoiding any extra costs. This would not only result in longer routes but also simultaneously have the counterproductive effect of creating more emissions. Therefore, although the concerted European action is a needful forerunner and acceptance in general is growing, a global approach is required more than ever and the industry’s hopes are high for the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December this year.

Targeted radionuclide therapy has shown improved overall survival in patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Most recently, Pluvicto (177Lu-PSMA-617), a small molecule PSMA ligand conjugated to the beta emitter 177Lu was approved for treatment of mCRPC. Although, initial responses have been encouraging, further improvements are being explored outside of small molecules and beta emitters. Novel large molecule radionuclide carriers are being developed, including monoclonal antibodies and fragment-based designs that may offer unique advantages to small molecule carriers. As radionuclides are often more difficult to work with and pose a health risk if not properly trained, pre-clinical testing with cytotoxic payloads can often serve as a surrogate for radionuclide payload uptake and assessment. Conventionally, efficacy of these competing antibodies has been assessed through measuring cell viability after treatment in 2D culture conditions. The use of 2D culture allows antibodies maximal access to cells and does not measure tumor penetration, a delineating factor in vitro. As a result, full length and fragment antibody drug conjugates may appear similar in binding, internalization, and cytotoxicity. 3D spheroid culture can assess antibody penetration and recapitulate features of solid tumors more closely than 2D culture conditions. Here a C42B prostate cancer spheroid was developed to obtain a model suitable for high-throughput screening using live-cell imaging. C42B Spheroids composed of 1000 cells were found to be reproducible, having steady growth and consistent shape. The spheroids were characterized and observed to decrease in both prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expression and individual cell size following the development of hypoxia, quantified by expression of HIF-1[alpha] at day seven of spheroid growth. This suggest that C42B spheroids are less sensitive to drug treatment than 2D culture due to the decrease in PSMA expression and the added penetration required in 3D culture. C42B spheroids were also observed to develop oxygen gradients resulting in hypoxia and necrosis at the core. This further validated the ability of spheroids to reproduce features of tumors not observed in 2D culture. The onset of necrosis also determined the optimal time to measure penetration of competing antibody designs. A monoclonal antibody and its digested fragment were labeled with a fluorescent dye and penetration was assessed using live-cell imaging. Spheroids treated with the competing antibodies showed a significant increase in fragment penetration compared to the full-length monoclonal antibody (P < 0.0001) over a period of 63 hours. These findings indicate that spheroids can differentiate between competing antibodies using penetration, a feature of tumors not measured using 2D culture. Spheroids allow competing antibodies to be assessed in an environment more relevant than current 2D culture conditions.