Case Article—Coastal Shipping for Automobile Distribution

Abstract

With growing concerns related to the environment, sustainable transportation has gained importance. For geographies with an ample coastline, coastal shipping offers a sustainable transportation option to move massive freight quantities. This paper presents a case that allows students to appreciate the role of coastal shipping in multimodal logistics planning. Furthermore, it gives students an opportunity to mathematically model transportation planning at a strategic and tactical level for automotive distribution. The students learn how to assess the financial viability of a mode shift from roadways to coastal shipping. The instructors can use this case for theoretical discussion on multimodal logistics and the application of mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) and heuristics as solution methods. Furthermore, the case presents an opportunity to demonstrate the improvement in solution quality with an MILP solver compared with heuristics.