Minimization of empty container truck trips: insights into truck-sharing constraints

• Pages: 641-662
• Date: 13 May 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-08-2018-0191
• Published date: 13 May 2019
• Author: Samsul Islam,Yangyan Shi,Jashim Uddin Ahmed,Mohammad Jasim Uddin
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations,Logistics

Minimization of empty

container truck trips: insights into

truck-sharing constraints

Samsul Islam

Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada

Yangyan Shi

College of Economics and Management,

Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China and

Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics,

Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

Jashim Uddin Ahmed

North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and

Mohammad Jasim Uddin

Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose –The issue of empty truck trips is largely ignored in the current literature. In order to cover this

important research gap, the purpose of this paper is to explore, describe, categorize and rank the potential

truck-sharing constraints for container trucks traveling empty around the port gates.

Design/methodology/approach –In order to contribute empirically to the current body of knowledge and

understandings of truck-sharing constraints, this paper adopts a multi-method empirical approach involving

both qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaire surveys.

Findings –Among many key constraints that influence the future of truck-sharing opportunities, the

authors determine, for example, that a carrier’s ability to earn the trust of its competitors is one of the top most

important factors of success for a fruitful truck-sharing event. The problem is, perhaps, further complicated

because of the increasing competitive environment in the container transport industry, as well as the lack of

effective coordination between the key parties involved.

Research limitations/implications –None of the earlier studies has provided a broad understanding and

ranking of the truck-sharing constraints that should be considered in truck-sharing events, although the

empty trips issue has been limitedly mentioned in the recent academic literature.

Practical implications –Empty truck trips are wasted miles. Wasted empty miles decrease transport

capacity in the container distribution chain along with causing an increase in carbon emission, traffic

congestion, fuel consumption and environmental pollution. The research results can be used by policy makers

to underpin effective measures to prevent the low utilization of trucks.

Originality/value –This study addresses an important gap. To the authors’knowledge, this is the first

study in the area that ranks truck-sharing constraints to reduce empty trucks trips.

Keywords Asia, Mixed method, Logistics industry, Maritime logistics

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

The overall economic contribution of a seaport makes it an indispensable part of its entire

supply chain (Song and Parola, 2015). However, compared with recent years, capacity

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 30 No. 2, 2019

pp. 641-662

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-08-2018-0191

Received 3 August 2018

Revised 4 December 2018

8 February 2019

Accepted 13 February 2019

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-4093.htm

The authors acknowledge the sponsorship of “a project funded by the Priority Academic Program

Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD)”and “China Centre for Food Security

Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University”, and the financial support from InterResearch, Dhaka,

Bangladesh, the Fundamental Research Funds (Project number: SKCX2018002) for the Central Universities

of China and 2018 Nanjing Social Science Funds General (Youth) Project in Spring (18CC05). The authors

would like to thank Margaret Stiles for proofreading this paper.

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Truck-sharing

constraints

shortages are an important issue now for the major ports of the world. More specifically, the

capacity shortageproblem has an effect on the efficacy andefficiency of containerized freight

transportation (Song and Parola, 2015). To put it in another way, as all port components are

connected to each other, there is considerable likelihood of the negative effects of capacity

shortage occurring in containerized freight transportation. If such adverse impacts actually

occur, the consequences are expected to be severefor a port (Chin-Shan et al., 2016). Therefore ,

as a probable solution of the problem, a road carrier is likely to be successful in increasing

capacity for freight transportation if its number of emptytruck trips can be decreased (Islam,

2017). Sucha savingsin the occurrence of empty trips willhave a significant effect on growing

freight capacity and should also result in the maximization of the total transport capacity of

trucks for all road carriers.

All empty truck trips decrease transport capacity in the container distribution chain

along with causing an increase in emissions, traffic congestion, fuel consumption and

environmental pollution (Islam and Olsen, 2014; Standing et al., 2018). An empty truck trip

can also be viewed as a “non-value-added activity”from a customer’s perspective, because it

increases the amount of time, effort and money spent on a transport service but does not

increase the given service’s worth to a customer (e.g. shippers) (Amornsawadwatana, 2007;

Caballini et al., 2014).

In order to minimize wasteful empty truck trips, one of the key findings of the previous

limited studies is the potential for container truck transportation using the truck-sharing

concept (Islam et al., 2013). Here, the core idea is to increase the overall loading of a truck by

completely reducing fully empty or partially loaded miles. This idea of increasing the

loading of a truck has been a frequent concern in the recent literature (Santén and Rogerson,

2014; Rogerson and Santén, 2017). Despite their valuable contributions, the successful

implementation of the suggested truck-sharing idea depends on the truck-sharing

constraints that were not taken into account in the previous limited studies (Islam et al.,

2013). Surprisingly, still, so far as the authors are aware, none of the earlier studies has

provided a comprehensive ranking (which one is more important and could possibly have

more negative impact on truck-sharing opportunities) of the truck-sharing constraints. The

ignorance of this increasingly challenging problem is also found important from the recent

trends and developments on the empty trips issue (Islam, 2017).

In order to cover this research gap, by adopting a multi-method empirical approach

(using both qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys), this study quantifies, ranks

and compares the potential truck-sharing constraints for container trucks traveling

empty. However, the focus of the study is to rank the truck-sharing constraints within the

maritime transport industry that has unique characteristics. For example, in a typical

seaport, around two-thirds of truck trips involve empty pickups or empty returns.

Also, demurrage and detention charges can only be applied to any shipment in a seaport.

Such features of the maritime transport system have been well described, for example, by

David et al. (2016). Therefore, in order to conduct the research in the maritime transport

field, the studied cases are mostly related to maritime companies. The interviewees are

selected from managerial-level positions of road carriers, and the surveys are conducted

among respondents from both shippers and carriers. The context of research is a

developing country. Overall, this study addresses an important research gap, given the

extent of the application of the truck-sharing idea for increasing truck loads in the freight

transportation sector is limited, as already observed by Vendela (2017) and Islam (2018).

Moreover, as far as the authors are aware, the prioritizing of the truck-sharing challenges

that contextualize hindering factors regarding the implementation of cooperative

truck-sharing services has rarely been studied within the current literature of horizontal

cooperation in road haulage. This is another major contribution of this study as it explores

and ranks those truck-sharing challenges.

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