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Top1. Introduction
In the global supply chain, network the demand for freight transportation increases year by year. To meet that supply and demand in more sustainable way transportation users and service providers have to combine the different mode of available transportation. In this context, the multimodal freight transportation emerged within all possible transportation systems as the most sustainable mode of transportation between origin and destination of product delivery.
In this article, we aim to review contemporary literature on multimodal freight transportation network design (MFTND), which is a most common concern of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers (SteadieSeifi et al., 2014). Rising the interest to develop a strategic supply chain network for distributing freight over the past few years (Caris, Macharis & Janssens, 2008). After the economic crisis in 2008, the common intention of organizations to minimize transportation cost and better supply chain performance in terms of transportation activities. The best way to obtain this objective was foreseen as an increased cooperation and integration within the actors of the supply chain distribution network (SteadieSeifi et al., 2014). Here actors involved in the distribution network may be shippers, logistics service providers (LSPs) or government who makes policies for better transportation network availability.
As the subject of multimodal freight transportation gains more relevance in last two decades, a strategic network planning-based literature review now seems more appropriate, as does identify relevant research gaps for future studies. Also, the strategic planning of the freight transportation is an important function to achieve overall sustainability of the freight transportation and to reduce other transportation externalities like congestion, CO2 emission, accidents and better vehicle utilization. Consequently, this article provides a selected contemporary publication in Scopus and Web of Science databases. In this paper, a procedure for the literature review is adopted from methodology proposed by (Lage Junior & Godinho Filho, 2010). This article answers the future studies in the multimodal freight transportation strategic network design in following way:
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An identification of most relevant articles related to the MFTND in Scopus and Web of Science databases;
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A detailed classification and corresponding coding of the relevant literature based on a variety of literature classification proposed by (Lage Junior & Godinho Filho, 2010);
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Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the considered studies in the available literature;
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An original future research agenda based on the relevant gaps found in the current literature review.