An algorithmic framework for routeing LTL shipments

One way of reducing the unit cost of shipment by a motor carrier is to consolidate many LTL (less-than-truck-load) shipments. Explicit information on the route structure is a prerequisite to the understanding of the costs of the services provided and to the planning of the allocation of the equipment and personnel among the terminals. In this paper, an approach for routeing the LTL shipments is presented and is applied to a hypothetical network. Solution results of this example show that the algorithm offers an efficient and reasonably accurate method for the routeing of LTL shipments via the intermediate terminals.