Efficient Dispatching in a Terminal City Network

This report describes new optimization and simulation tools to address several problems in transportation, specifically driver dispatching and tour formation in full truckload trucking. In this segment of transportation industry, one of the problems is low driver retention mainly due to the long routes that keep drivers away from home for long time. This issue is addresses first by extracting a network of high volume cities (called terminal city network) from the existing transportation network. Then, the tours for the drivers in the terminal network are regularized as much as possible using simulation and optimization. Specifically, we develop integer programming models and discrete-event system simulation tools to design and evaluate optimal or near-optimal delivery plans for truckload shipments between terminal cities in a truckload-trucking environment. The problem was examined primarily from a freight carrier's perspective, with a goal of providing driver tour pattern and domicile information to maximize carrier revenue while meeting shipment demands and driver needs. We provide multiple models that span from long-term aggregate planning problems to short-term driver-specific operational models and show how they can be used in different settings. We also provide realistically sized case studies to demonstrate the efficacy of the approaches using data supplied by J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. References, 9 tables, 2 figures. 22 p. This paper may also be viewed in HTML format at http://www.mackblackwell.org/research/finals/arc2004/comb2004.htm