FORWARD SHIPPING OPTIONS FOR GRAIN BY RAIL: A STRATEGIC RISK ANALYSIS

Abstract

Grain hauling railroads began offering shipping alternatives in the late 1980s that have made transportation decisions more strategic. Shippers now confront alternatives ranging from nearby and unguaranteed ordering to various durations of forward and guaranteed shipment. A dynamic stochastic simulation model was developed to analyze grain shipping and merchandising strategies that integrate these alternatives.railroads, grain merchandising, logistics, simulation, risk analysis, Crop Production/Industries, Marketing,