In India, truck rates are published and available through local transport exchanges. Consider a simplified two node network (Mumbai-Delhi). The demands for loaded movement for a particular carrier...

In India, truck rates are published and available through local transport exchanges. Consider a simplified two node network (Mumbai-Delhi). The demands for loaded movement for a particular carrier specialising in industrial products is 35 trucks a week from Mumbai to Delhi and 30 trucks a week from Delhi to Mumbai. In a given season, these demands can be taken as representative of the overall demand. (a) Since transport rates are competitive, would you expect Mumbai-Delhi rates to be higher than Delhi Mumbai rates? (b) What is the overall fleet requirement for this transporter (you can assume four days of travel time each way, but you would have to make additional assumption of variability of demand over time and also vehicle maintenance requirements)?