Exploring Empty Truck Behavior Using One-Year Probe Vehicle Data

Abstract

Examining empty truck behavior can be beneficial in developing an efficient and environmentally friendly logistics system. This study used probe vehicle data from April 2019 to March 2020 in Kyushu, Japan, to explore empty truck behavior. The results revealed a difference in the empty truck ratio across the day of the week, time of the day, and month and the trip distribution of empty and loaded trucks. A nonhierarchical cluster analysis was used to classify vehicles based on empty/loaded situations. These results can be potentially used to reduce the number of empty trucks and improve the efficiency of logistics systems.