Vehicle-Miles for a Freight Carrier With Two Capacity Constraints

The amount of freight that can be fit on a vehicle depends on the vehicle's weight capacity and volume capacity. In this paper mathematical equations are developed for evaluating the impact of weight capacity and volume capacity on total vehicle-miles. It is shown that the number of vehicle loads needed to carry a large amount of material is minimized when all vehicles are filled to the same capacity constraint. This is accomplished by mixing light items with heavy items in vehicle loads. Following this policy can reduce the number of vehicle loads and vehicle-miles. Under ideal circumstances, the reduction can be as large as 50 percent. Simple equations are provided for estimating the potential reduction in vehicle loads and vehicle-miles to be realized