Shipper Agents and Interactions with Transport Markets

拟议项目旨在开发一个可操作的多代理（MA）模型，以模拟货运需求，重点是城市地区。在该模型中，考虑了托运人，收件人和负责组织和执行物理运输的代理商所做的物流决策。特别强调的是在货物运输市场的需求和供应双方的相互作用。这是通过将物流决策（如批量选择）和市场相关决策（如承运人选择）纳入MA模型来实现的。重要的创新是从托运人到物流服务提供商再到承运人的整个决策链的一致表示，以及根据观察到的数据生成车辆巡回模式。体现货物运输需求的代理人被开发并赋予行为组件。这样就可以跟踪他们对运输政策措施的反应。此外，还将模拟物流服务提供商与货物托运人或收货人之间的互动。

The proposed project aims at the development of an operational multi agent (MA) model to simulate freight transport demand, with focus on urban areas. In the model, logistics decisions made by shippers, recipients, and agents in charge of organising and performing physical transports are considered. Special emphasis is put on the interaction of the demand and supply sides in the freight transport market. This is done by incorporating both logistics decisions (such as lot size choice) and market related decisions (such as carrier choice) into the MA model. Important innovations are a consistent representation of the whole chain of decision makers from the shipper of a consignment via the logistics service provider to the carrier, and the generation of vehicle tour patterns from observed data.This project is concerned with those parts of the process that precede the physical transport of the goods. Agents that embody the demand for freight transport are developed and endowed with behaviour components. This allows to track their reactions to transport policy measures. Moreover, interactions between logistics service providers and shippers or recipients of goods will be simulated.