Empirical Evaluation of Economic Order Quantity Model for Choice of Shipment Size in Freight Transport

The choice of shipment size in freight transport depends on the logistical imperatives of shippers and the technical possibilities of carriers. The choice is closely related to the mode of transportation and therefore important for public policy. The theory of optimal shipment size and mode choice is robust. Numerous inventory-theoretical models of optimal shipment size are applied by shippers in operational contexts. However, none has been validated empirically over a large and heterogeneous population of shipments, and thus none are useful for modeling freight transportation demand, particularly because of the lack of adequate data. The simple economic order quantity (EOQ) model was assessed empirically on a national scale over a heterogeneous population of shipments. The French ECHO database, which observed commodity flow rates between shippers and receivers, was used to estimate the EOQ shipment size specification, and the validity of the EOQ model was confirmed. The study revealed the dominant role of the commodity flow rate between shipper and receiver and of commodity value density. The relationship between mode choice and shipment size is highlighted.