On October 16, 2023, Jan Tränkner successfully defended his doctoral thesis on the topic of “Horizontal Business Cooperation under Uncertainty” – a big thumbs up and “hats off” from the whole team!

What will the ports of the future have to look like to keep up with the increasing growth in freight traffic? Together with the German-Kazakh University, we are embarking on a new research project to get to the bottom of this question.

Combined road/rail freight transport (CT) is becoming increasingly important, because only a combination of transport modes can sustainably handle the constantly growing volume of goods. Artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven planning cannot be missing from this development, of course. Prof. Ralf Elbert and our research associate Yuerui Tang explain in an article in the latest issue of International Transport how AI and loading optimization can support CT and thus the achievement of climate targets.

Let's face it: German freight traffic will grow in the future. That's also what the forecast of the Federal Minister of Transport says. But where to put it? Neither road nor rail can manage the volume of traffic, at least not on their own. Combined Transport (CT) offers a real opportunity.

Prof. Ralf Elbert, Raphael Hackober and Yuerui Tang traveled to Dresden for the 13th Logistics Management Conference from September 13-15, 2023, and presented current research results in not one but two talks.

Looking at “Sustainability in Production and Logistics”, the ASIM Symposium Simulation in Production and Logistics took place in Ilmenau, Germany this year…

How can spotters increase the efficiency of terminals in combined road/rail freight transport? And how can trucks use platooning in road freight transport to reduce costs for transport companies?

The steel industry in Germany must change: The designated climate targets can only be achieved by converting production to green steel and thus reducing greenhouse gases. To save greenhouse gases, the coal used to date is to be replaced by more climate-friendly hydrogen and the increased use of steel scrap in steel production.

Combined road/rail freight transport (CT) can play a critical role in achieving climate targets, as it is one of the fastest growing subsectors of freight transport in Germany. However, rapid growth also places high demands on infrastructure and the efficiency of operational processes.

Digitization is constantly pushing the limits of intermodal freight transport and changing how it can operate. From 17 to 21 July 2023, Prof. Elbert, Johannes Rentschler and Felix Roeper gave insights into two of our recent research projects on this topic at the 16th World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR) in Montréal, Canada.