A Bi-Level Programming Approach to the Location-Routing Problem with Cargo Splitting under Low-Carbon Policies

To identify the impact of low-carbon policies on the location-routing problem (LRP) with cargo splitting (LRPCS), this paper first constructs the bi-level programming model of LRPCS. On this basis, the bi-level programming models of LRPCS under four low-carbon policies are constructed, respectively. The upper-level model takes the engineering construction department as the decision-maker to decide on the distribution center’s location. The lower-level model takes the logistics and distribution department as the decision-maker to make decisions on the vehicle distribution route’s scheme. Secondly, the hybrid algorithm of Ant Colony Optimization and Tabu Search (ACO-TS) is designed, and an example is introduced to verify the model’s and algorithm’s effectiveness. Finally, multiple sets of experiments are designed to explore the impact of various low-carbon policies on the decision-making of the LRPCS. The experimental results show that the influence of the carbon tax policy is the greatest, the carbon trading and carbon offset policy have a certain impact on the decision-making of the LRPCS, and the influence of the emission cap policy is the least. Based on this, we provide the relevant low-carbon policies advice and management implications.