Locating Transportation Logistics Centers and Their Dynamic Synergy for Equilibrium Economic Behavior

Abstract

Locating transportation logistics centers (TLCs) is significant in organizing and easing the shipment of commodities. By choosing the right place and building a brand TLC, various producers and trade companies will benefit from its services. This paper applies the Euclidean theorem and graph theory to select an optimal place. Because the price of transportation services is an important challenge, this article shows ways to reduce it for the companies that are customers of the TLC. This study hypothesizes that a TLC network standardizes and improves services and reduces prices and after the building of Iranshahr’s TLC, our aim is to synergize and connect it with a network of TLCs. Case studies were carried out on the building of a network of TLCs with four nodes in Coburg, Ashgabat, Iranshahr, and Chabahar. The novelty of this research is in the method used, which studies TLCs in two statuses—separately and with a network. The research includes, simultaneously, TLCs in both developed and developing economies with various socioeconomic formations. The paper analyses, methodologically, the economic behavior of the TLCs in the two situations using a mathematical model. The model uses two Lagrange target functions to prove that the network decreases prices while improving presented services. We found that multimodal cargo transportation by one TLC within a network of TLCs decreases the costs of transportation services and that the TLC network improved economies of scale through knowledge, technology, and experience synergy. The outcomes and model of this study will assist transportation planners and engineers in building and managing a TLC and including it in a network.