ABSTRACT
The land transportation of containers between a container terminal and the origins or destinations of the containers represents a very small portion of the global distribution network in terms of distance. However, it accounts for a significant portion of the total transportation cost. It can also cause shipment delays and disruptions in the global network. When the transportation involves cross-border issues such as having different regulatory policies for transportation and information flow, modeling the problem is not trivial. In this chapter, we introduce several modeling perspectives. These perspectives help to formulate cross-border land transportation problems under different situations. These situations depend on the level of policy restriction that governs cross-border activities and the level of information available for decision making. We review a number of models, ranging from coupling drivers and tractors to matching resources with transportation requests in a dynamic, stochastic environment. This chapter uses the case of Hong Kong as an example to illustrate the challenges of managing cross-border container transportation and the breadth and depth in research development.
