Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Distribution Analysis Of Freight Transportation With Gravity Model And Genetic Algorithm, Jun Duanmu, Peter Foytik, Asad Khattak, R. Michael Robinson

VMASC Publications

The application of a gravity model in freight modeling work on both short-haul and long-haul trips is discussed. A commodity-based gravity model was developed to assess the distribution of freight by long-haul trucks in southeastern Virginia. Although gravity models have been used extensively in transportation studies, little work has been done to address the special characteristics of freight transportation, such as the definition of friction factors and the differences between long-haul and short-haul trips. Results of a recent study of these and similar problems provide valuable insight into freight distribution modeling. A new calibration method that used a genetic algorithm …