Truck-sharing constraints: two case studies

This study explores and describes the potential truck-sharing constraints (physical and behavioral) for container trucks travelling empty; such empty truck trips contribute to traffic congestion, carbon emissions and transport capacity shortages at the marine container terminals of the leading ports. In this study, two case studies are presented in order to investigate the range of constraints that are involved. The truck-sharing constraints for the port are co-ordination problems between the carriers, a competitive container transportation industry that is lacking in mutual trust, in addition to the absence of the deployment of a neutral subsidiary company to take over the responsibility for the issue of empty truck trips. The constraints for a load-matching company are the diversity of the truck dispatching systems of carriers, the lack of trust between carriers, cost barriers and the weight restrictions imposed by the Government. The results of the two case studies, which have been explored in this study, can be used to persuade port stakeholders to evaluate and overcome the challenges presented by the truck-sharing constraints in the effort to reduce the number of empty truck trips.