Shipment size and vehicle choice modeling for road freight transport: A geographical perspective

Shipment size and freight transport mode choice have been modeled previously in many studies. There are several studies on the road transport level of this subject as well. This study investigates shipment size and road freight vehicle choice from a geographical point of view. An industrial region in a province may be neighboring another province, a large metropolitan area. Then, freight vehicle choice patterns in that industrial region may differ from the rest of the province it is part of. In this research, data were obtained from Kocaeli province in Türkiye. Modeling techniques include Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) for shipment size choice and Discrete Choice approaches for vehicle choice. This study investigates the effects of neighboring using dummy variable and market segmentation approaches. Both approaches show that one region of Kocaeli, neighboring Istanbul, has different vehicle choice mechanisms from the rest of Kocaeli. Therefore, in shipment size and freight vehicle choice modeling or freight transportation master plans for a region, neighboring effects of other large metropolitan areas should be considered. If necessary, separate models may be required for such regions. Effects of several variables on shipment size and vehicle choice patterns are also given.