Determinants of Mode Choice between Road and Shipping for Freight Transport: Evidence for Four Spanish Exporting Sectors

Abstract

The estimation of a freight transport demand function using a Conditional Logit model has emphasised the role of cost, transit time, and frequency of shipments as determinants of mode choice. Interviews with exporting firms, freight forwarders, and other transport firms were conducted and data about mode of transport, price, transit time, and other variables was produced. A total of 157 exporting firms located within the Valencian Community were interviewed from October to December 1998. The modes examined were road and sea. Elasticity analysis has found sea transport much more sensitive than road transport to variations in its own costs and changes in transport prices.