Theoretical and Practical Issues Regarding U.S. Army Ammunition Freight Movements

摘要

This paper explores and discusses a variety of theoretical and practical issuesrelated to the freight transportation industry in an attempt to relate relevant analysis techniques to United States Army shipments of ammunition. A number of topics are discussed, paying particular attention to mathematical freight models developed within the past two decades. Practical applications of modelling and analysis techniques are explored with respect to trip generation and trip distribution. These applications of theory are intended to (a) broaden the author's knowledge in the implementation of current methods and (b) aid in the determination of the usefulness of these methods as analysis tools for the United States Army. The motivation for this paper is to determine if the U.S. Army can improve transportation operations through the use of improved planning and analysis tools. The specific question to be addressed is whether transportation system efficiency can be improved if transportation modelling practices are adopted.