Transport Production and Cost Structure

Abstract

This chapter presents an analysis of the production process and cost structure in freight transport, from a microeconomic perspective. Three type of flow structures are studied: (i) transport from a single origin to a single destination, with and without return load; (ii) freight transport flows between three points, in which different route structures are analyzed; and (iii) freight transport from a single origin to several destinations, in which several routes are dispatched from the origin, each one carrying loads to a subset of the destinations. Finally, specific aspects of road and rail transport are described respectively and external costs caused by freight transport in each of these modes are discussed.