MICAH: a genetic algorithm system for multi-commodity transshipment problems

Abstract

The multicommodity transshipment problem (MCTP) is a specialization of the vehicle routing problem. MICAH, a genetic algorithm system integrated with a MCTP solver for solving MCTPs, is described. An MCTP consists of nodes that either produce or acquire commodities and arcs that are used for the transportation of commodities between the different nodes. The objective is to maximize the total amount of commodities transported between the nodes while minimizing the transportation cost. Multicommodity transshipment problems are combinatorially explosive problems that have no known polynomial-time algorithms for obtaining optimal solutions. MCTP problems belong to the NP-complete class of problems. The solution obtained from MICAH for a real-world MCTP transports 38% more commodities compared to the solution obtained from a combination of a MCTP solver and manual routing.<>