Creating transportation policy in a network that utilizes both contract carriers and an internally managed fleet

A convergence of factors including a strong economy, changing demographics and increased regulatory control has resulted in a U.S. For-Hire Truckload (TL) industry that is increasingly pressed to meet shippers' needs for freight services. As demand now exceeds supply, the buyer/seller relationship has swung to favor TL providers who wield much more power than they have historically enjoyed. TL carriers are now able to negotiate higher rates, increase charges for providing additional services and decrease service levels as shippers are unable to find suitable replacement carriers. Many shippers have responded to these changing market dynamics by increasing the use of private and/or dedicated fleets within their distribution networks. This provides them with guaranteed capacity, increased leverage with carriers during rate negotiations and increased overall operational control of their networks. In this thesis, I will propose a methodology for the creation of a shipper's overall transportation policy in a distribution network that uses an internally managed fleet in conjunction with TL contract carriers.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Mulqueen, Michael Jay

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Christopher G. Caplice.

• Engineering Systems Division.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/36141

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/36141