A Two-Stage Optimisation Approach for a Sustainable Physical Internet Multi-Modal Barge–Road Hub Terminal

The logistics and transportation sectors are struggling to manage empty containers (ECs), resulting in unused resources, inefficiencies, and increased CO2 emissions. The Physical Internet (PI) concept provides an opportunity to improve container sharing and transportation by intelligently organising logistics resources. This paper shows how PI principles can address the EC problem in truck transportation. The objective is to reduce CO2 emissions with improved space-sharing strategies. The problem is formulated and solved using a two-stage optimisation approach (2Stage-Opt) to optimise container motion. The validity of the 2Stage-Opt solutions is tested using a developed multi-agent system simulation (MASS) model to replicate the behaviour of real multi-modal hubs. This approach is evaluated using a real-world case study from a multi-modal logistics centre in the north of France. The results indicate that utilising PI-container solutions offers significant sustainability benefits, especially in reducing the number of trucks used in the simulation and the CO2 emissions from ECs.