ABSTRACT
In Ghana, freight transport is growing
continuously every year due to its location and business processes. However,
road transport carries 86% of freight despite its numerous negative
impacts. Hence, the government has invested in rail transport, with 70% of its
capacity is for freight transport in her busy freight transport corridor
(eastern transport regions of Ghana). Thus, awareness of criteria considered
when deciding on freight transport becomes vital. Hence, this study aims to
improve the understanding of the factors of
freight transport mode selection in Ghana from the decision-making
process by identifying criteria that affect their decisions on mode
transportation. The combination of Fuzzy AHP and Topsis is used to find the
weights and suggest suitable alternatives for the decision-makers in the
Eastern transport regions of Ghana. The result of this study shows that the
criteria to consider when selecting freight transport mode in the regions are
prioritized in other of Transport cost (0.6544), transport Time factors
(0.2562), reliability, and flexibility (0.0605), and security, Risk of damage
and lose factors (0.0287). Additionally, the suitable mode(s) of transportation
in the stated corridor is owned truck carrier transport compared to the
railroad, road-barge, and Contracted Carrier, thus, in descending order. The
results provide organizations to prioritize these factors when deciding to
select freight transport mode. At the same time, the government must remove
some inputs that result in high transport costs, enforce policies, and invest in the appropriate mode.