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Title:

Trends in Truck Freight Energy Use and Carbon Emissions in Selected OECD Countries from 1973 to 2003

Accession Number:

01088629

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

In the age of global supply chains and “just in time” logistics, fast and efficient goods movement is often seen as an economic imperative. In many nations the growth in global goods movement not only translates into growth in commercial trucking activity but also into growth in the share of trucking compared to other modes of in-country freight transportation. These trends have a significant impact on the energy intensity of freight transport. Using a bottom-up approach relying on national data, this study compares the energy intensity of truck freight across several nations including the Australia, France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States from 1973 to the present. The analysis builds on previous work by Schipper, et al. (1997, 1999) decomposing first only energy use for freight and then fuel mix as well. Intensity is expressed in terms of vehicle intensity (megajoules/vehicle-kilometer), modal energy intensity (megajoules/tonne-kilometer), and carbon intensity (grams/tonne-km). The cross-country comparison highlights in part the influence of geography, transportation infrastructure, and truck utilization patterns on energy and carbon intensity from this sector. The resulting discussion provides guidelines to policymakers seeking to achieve real reductions in energy use and carbon emissions from the trucking sector. While improving fuel economy of individual vehicles is important, large reductions in trucking energy use and emissions will also come from better logistics and driving, higher load factors, and better matching of truck capacity to load.

Monograph Accession #:

01084478

Report/Paper Numbers:

08-1898

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Kamakate, Fatumata
Schipper, Lee

Pagination:

19p

Publication Date:

2008

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 87th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2008-1-13 to 2008-1-17
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

DVD

Features:

Figures (6) ; References (21) ; Tables (5)

Geographic Terms:

OECD countries

Subject Areas:

Energy; Environment; Freight Transportation; Highways; Motor Carriers; I15: Environment

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2008 Paper #08-1898

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Jan 29 2008 4:14PM