Game-Theoretical Method Toward Dry Port Multilevel Location Considering Capacity Constraints and Shippers’ Choice Behavior

The high demand for containerized cargo and the low market share of low-carbon transportation modes for hinterland freight systems in China are causing severe traffic congestion and environmental pollution. Dry ports offer an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions, relieve congestion, and expand the hinterland of seaports. Therefore, this paper focuses on the dry port multilevel location problem considering capacity constraints, shippers’ choice behavior, and empty container transportation in a four-mode port-hinterland freight network. A Stackelberg game-theoretical model is built for the government and shippers. In the model, the government determines the number, location, and capacity level of dry ports, and shippers choose seaports and paths according to the constrained nested logit model because of the capacity constraints of nodes and links. To solve the problem, a complete enumeration algorithm and a hybrid genetic algorithm are designed. Numerical experiments in China are performed, and two analyses are conducted on the cost parameters and time parameters. The results indicate that constructing dry ports can decrease carbon emissions and generalized transportation costs, and promote the mode shift from road to railway. However, building a larger number and higher capacity level of dry ports sometimes increases total costs, contrary to expectations. There are also some interesting findings with respect to the effects of costs and time parameters on dry port location results, carbon emissions, modal split, and seaport market share.