Overview
Modal integration and balance in freight transport is an objective not only declared in major European and Italian documents on transport planning (e.g. the Italian New General Plan for Transport and Logistics and the European White Paper), but also shared by major freight transport actors (institutions and associations). Nonetheless, macroeconomic data does not show improvements in modal integration and balance.
The objective of the project was to identify and explain economic, infrastructural, technological, organisational and political obstacles which hamper a better modal integration and balance in freight transport at a general level, and in particular in Italy.
The project carried out:
- an analysis of behaviour and decision rules of all freight transport actors (manufacturers, shippers, transport operators, public authorities, etc.);
- an analysis of specific Italian case studies.
The first step was to review literature on freight transport modal choice models and to outline short and long-term models from a theoretical point of view. These models would explicitly take into account the specific market form of each mode. A model for the interaction shipper-carrier takes into account different kind of incentives between companies and transport operators.
Then parameters which characterise the reference geographic area were theoretically analysed and territorial analysis were carried out. After that, the models were calibrated and a quantitative analysis of RO-RO (roll-on roll-off) traffic flow in the Adriatic Corridor Italy-Greece was conducted, reconstructing the decisional process of the actors involved in the supply chain.
After a literature review on intermodal transport, external costs and regulations concerning the international multimodal transport axes was carried out. Finally, an economic analysis of traffic flow and network logistical supply chain configuration concerning companies, consumers, logistic and transport operators, Territorial Logistic Service Centres, Universities and Institutions, was conducted.