information Article Grade Setting of a Timber Logistics Center Based on a Complex Network: A Case Study of 47 Timber Trading Markets in China Liang Xue 1 , Xin Huang 2,*, Yuchun Wu 3, Xingchen Yan 1 and Yan Zheng 1 1 College of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Longpan Road 159#, Nanjing 210037, China;
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[email protected] (Y.Z.) 2 College of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Longpan Road 159#, Nanjing 210037, China 3 Collaborative Innovation Center of steel Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Xueyuan Road 30#, Beijing 100083, China;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +86-139-5197-0539 Received: 14 January 2020; Accepted: 14 February 2020; Published: 16 February 2020 Abstract: The location and grade setting of a timber logistics center is an important link in the optimization of the timber logistics system, the rationality of which can effectively improve the efficiency of the timber logistics supply chain. There is a long distance between the main forested areas in China, and more than 55% of the timber demand depends on imports. Research and practice of systematically planning timber logistics centers in the whole country have not been well carried out, which reduces the efficiency of timber logistics. In this paper, 47 timber trading markets with a certain scale in China are selected as the basis for logistics center selection. Based on their transportation network relationship and the number of enterprises in the market, combined with the complex network theory and data analysis method, the network characteristics of three different transportation networks are measured.