Location of cargo terminals in metropolitan areas of developing countries: the Brazilian case

This article presents a procedure for establishing and ranking the areas that are candidates for building truck cargo terminals, based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and considering location factors, with focus on accessibility considerations, expressed by indicators derived from graph theory. Accessibility is thus defined objectively for each area, contemplating its needs regarding production or consumption of cargo or promotion of intermodal transport of products. The proposed approach determines the most suitable area for locating the terminal according to the perception of each actor participating in the process as well as the set of actors, seeking to conjugate conflicting interests and facilitate convergence and the establishment of negotiated solutions. With this, it provides a more transparent and participative decision-making process and supplies basic elements for government bodies to formulate their socioeconomic development policies. The application of this procedure in the greater Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region demonstrated its feasibility in developing countries and in contexts with restricted data, funding and planning.

► A method is proposed for location of a new collective regional truck cargo terminal.
► The choice of this location is more complex in Brazil because of deficient planning and lack of data.
► A procedure using the Analytic Hierarchy Process can help stimulate the participation of actors.
► The use of accessibility indicators produced results similar to those of the AHP.
► Applying qualitative and quantitative approaches together can produce better choices.