Comprehensive Evaluation Model and Empirical Research on Railway Freight Rates in a Competitive Environment

This study aims to establish criteria to evaluate performance in railway freight pricing policy and to strengthen the marketing ability of the railway freight enterprise. The evaluation method used in our study is known as the improved grey relation analysis evaluation. Fifteen factors that influence freight pricing strategy are selected in this paper to establish a freight rate evaluation index system and comprehensive evaluation index values for monthly freight rates are calculated. The improved grey relation analysis not only considers the relation between each index and freight rate but also examines the relationship between each index. We find that the comprehensive evaluation state using the improved grey relation analysis evaluation method can better fit the 2015–2017 changes in monthly railroad freight revenue than the traditional grey relation analysis evaluation. Furthermore, an optimal pricing model for freight shipping by train is built and calculated using the bi-level programming model. Finally, the S Railway Bureau’s actual coal transportation in 2017 is taken as an experiment to support the validity of the improved grey relation analysis method. We find that when the monthly results of improved grey evaluation grades are compared with the grade evaluation of the gap between the historical shipping coal rates and the optimal freight shipping rates, the comparison of results matches well. The research work is helpful to policymakers who need to judge the performance of the market price.

A Theory Approach towards Tradable Rail Freight Option

For railway freight pricing, this paper proposes a new tradable rail freight option (RFO). A multiphase trigeminal tree pricing model is established to analyze the optimal pricing decision of RFO. The main parameters of the model are identified theoretically through nonparametric Ito stochastic approach. The paper expands the theory of railway freight pricing. The aim of this paper is to construct the railway freight option theory to help railway transportation enterprise cope with fierce competition and challenge from other modes of transportation in China. The most significant feature of this method is its simplicity in analyzing the optimal pricing decision using only the algebraic category and Ito’s lemma.

Stackelberg Game Model of Railway Freight Pricing Based on Option Theory

In recent years, although rail transport has contributed significantly to the productivity of the Chinese economy, it has also been faced with the fierce competition and challenge from other modes of transportation, and therefore, freight-pricing issue has received more attention by researchers. In this paper, the rail freight option (RFO) based on option theory is proposed to study the optimal pricing decision of the railway transportation enterprise and contract customers’ optimal purchase decisions. To obtain an effective RFO contract, the railway freight contract transaction process is first analyzed. Then, the theoretical framework for the RFO contract trading is put forward in the railway freight market. Next, a two-stage Stackelberg game theoretic approach is presented based on the principle of utility maximization to achieve the optimal decision of RFO contract. Subsequently, the reverse reasoning method in dynamic programming is used to solve the optimal combination decision of the contract customer. Finally, the optimal pricing decision of RFO is discussed using Kuhn–Tucker conditions and Lagrangian function. The result shows that the railway transportation enterprise should pay more attention to the option strike price w1 in terms of maximizing system utility and achieving Pareto optimal.

The Role of Sustainable Technological Innovations in the Relationship between Freight Pricing and Environmental Degradation: Evidence from a panel of 39 R&D economies

This study is in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) to evaluate the post-Paris Agreement (COP21) through technological innovations and carbon pricing in a panel of 39 R&D economies from 1995 to 2018. The results show that sustainable technological innovations and smart applications of insurance & financial services help decrease GHG emissions in the lowest to highest quantiles distribution. In contrast, air transportation freight, air fright pricing, and FDI inflows escalate GHG emissions due to unsustainable logistics activities, inefficient freight pricing, and dirty production, which confirmed the 'pollution haven' hypothesis across countries. The impact of air freight revenues has a differential impact on GHG emissions in the different quantiles distribution, as in the lowest quantiles (i.e., τ0.2 to τ0.4), air freight revenues increase GHG, whereas, at the highest quantiles distribution (i.e., τ0.9), it becomes to decrease. Thus, the viability of air freight revenues further is judged with Panel Granger causality and panel innovation matrix. The results show the bidirectional causality between i) air freight pricing and GHG emissions, ii) air transportation freight (and freight pricing, freight revenues, FDI) and technology innovations, iii) FDI and air freight revenues, while there is a unidirectional causality running from i) insurance & financial services to GHG emissions, ii) GHG emissions to technological innovations and FDI inflows, and iii) air transportation freight to FDI inflows.

Study on Pricing Model of Air Freight Based on Revenue Management

At present, the air freight rate does not match with the current competitive environment, and the revenue level of air freight is not ideal. How to improve the level of income management and balance the relationship between quantity and price has become an urgent problem for China’s air freight. In this context, this paper constructs an air freight pricing model based on revenue management. We review the application models of the air freight, and select the parameters for pricing model. Then the pricing model is constructed based on the revenue management and the status quo of China’s air freight industry. Finally, the model is tested by simulation analysis. This paper aims to provide a scientific and reasonable decision-making reference for air freight pricing through the improvement of pricing model.