Chapter 1: Recent Developments in Transport Modelling: What We Can Learn for the Freight Sector

The ongoing economic globalization and increasing need for flexibility in modern enterprises have turned freight transport into a major public policy and corporate domain. The field of freight transportation research has reflected this evolution, and is quite justifiably attracting increasing attention.

Transport growth is a sine qua non for sustained economic growth, yet this relationship is not without problems. External effects such as air pollution, congestion, accidents and damage to infrastructure generate considerable social costs.

Transportation is not just the product of social and economic activity. It also generates such activity. Since production and consumption of goods and services are usually physically separated, the distance between the two needs to be bridged by means of at least one mode of transportation.