Research on Optimization of International Multimodal Transportation Routes Based on Uncertainty Theory

Delays in international multimodal marine transport can result in subsequent connection delays, leading to prolonged transportation time and increased uncertainty. To identify more reliable and cost-effective robust transportation routes, this study establishes a constrained planning model for multimodal transportation routes. Employing uncertainty theory, the model is transformed into a deterministic equivalent class model and ultimately incorporates an adaptive differential evolution (ADE) algorithm. Results of a case study indicate that: (i) the proposed model, compared with deterministic models, exhibits greater robustness and better aligns with practical transportation scenarios, resulting in substantial reductions in actual transportation time and cost; (ii) the solution efficiency of the ADE algorithm surpasses that of the genetic algorithm and Dijkstra algorithm; (iii) the start time of transportation and the confidence level of uncertainty also play crucial roles in influencing route selection. Therefore, decision-makers should consider a multifaceted approach when formulating transportation routes.