A logistics centre strategy for the management of goods movement and freight vehicles on the roads of the central region of Mexico

This paper is focused on the movement of goods and freight vehicles in the Central Region of Mexico, which has a market of over 30 million inhabitants inside multiple cities forming the megalopolis. The paper contains three main parts. The first part presents the general concept of Logistics Centre (LC) and the description of an Integrated Merchandise Centre (IMC). An IMC is a LC infrastructure which can be useful for improving the trucks flow in the Central Region. The second part presents an analysis of the flow on the road network within the Central Region, which is based on traffic counts. The flow analysis includes total flow, trucks flow, trucks flow at “rush hour”, and trucks flow per vehicle type. Also, an analysis of the seven corridors which cross the Central Region is included. The third part of the paper is focused on the following: i) the location of Strategic Logistical Nodes (SLN) in the Central Region; ii) the pre-feasible profiles for IMC; and iii) the possibility of using basic modules for the integration of different types of IMCs. The analysis allowed identification of opportunity niches in industrial and services sectors which are important for the development of LC projects in the Central Region, and the best places for the LC location. The main benefit of the implementation of LC in the identified SLN is the logistical territorial management which contributes to reduce congestion, travel time, land-use conflicts and emissions.