Figure 1: Load factors for road of selected countries, 1980 to 1998 DK D NL FIN S

Transcription

1 The loading efficiency of road freight transport is improving slightly in some EU Member States but has remained relatively stable or worsened in most Member States. The picture is more encouraging for other transport modes: the loading efficiency of rail freight transport improved slightly (3 %) between 1980 and 1998; air freight transport is getting increasingly more efficient, though the rate of improvement is gradually declining. Figure 1: Load factors for road of selected countries, 1980 to Tonne-km per vehicle-km DK D NL FIN S Objective Increase vehicle load factors to reduce the growth in freight transport vehicle-km. Definition The load factor is the ratio of the average load to total vehicle freight capacity, in tonnes or volume (vans, trucks, train wagons, ships and aircraft). As such data are not available for the whole EU for all modes (except for aviation), the load factor is defined as the number of tonne-km divided by the number of vehicle-km. Note: By using the ratio tonne-km per vehicle-km, an apparent increase in load factor can be explained by an actual increase in load factor, a decrease in empty haulage or an increase in the weight of goods of a given volume. Policy and targets There are no EU-wide targets for load factors and overall freight transport efficiency. Several Member States have taken initiatives to increase the efficiency of freight transport. Germany The United Logistics and fleet management systems are used to minimise empty journeys and generally increase the efficiency of freight transport. Information and communication technologies are used in combined transport chains to facilitate the interconnection of the modes and the tracking of consignments (German Federal Ministry of Environment and Nuclear Safety, 2000). The United Kingdom intents to support industry s efforts to identify Version

2 Kingdom Denmark Finland opportunities for reducing empty and light running, through investment in new technology (such as double-deck trailers or IT tools which facilitate load sharing and better route planning) (DETR, 1998). The Danish Government supports demonstration projects which aim to promote environmentally-friendly transport. Emphasis is placed on initiatives which can improve exploitation of truck capacity for long and short trips (deliveries). For short delivery trips, there is a need to develop new concepts for improved city logistics through a coordinated effort by municipalities, the transport industry and the business community (Danish Ministry of Transport, 1996). The Environmental Guidelines of the Transport Sector sets out actions for more efficient and environmentally-friendly freight transport. Projects promoting logistical efficiency to reduce transport growth (including projects to increase truck load factors) are encouraged by the Ministry of Transport. The development of logistical systems using on-board computers and geographical information systems is encouraged (Finish Ministry of Transport and Communications, 1999). Findings Transport is relatively cheap compared with other production factors. Therefore, transporters are not sufficiently stimulated to improve their efficiency. Companies prefer inefficient transport to inefficient time-management, resulting in an increasing number (more vehicle-km) and a decreasing size of shipments (TNO, 1999). Freight transport efficiency depends to a certain extent on economic conditions. Small transporters may merge into larger transport companies, which usually use their vehicle fleets more efficiently. Load factors - road Empty haulage The load factors of road transport in the EU are gradually increasing. However, this finding is based on six Member States only and might not be valid for the whole EU. Load factors in Denmark, Germany, Spain and Portugal increased between 1980 and Load factors in the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden dropped significantly (by %) between 1980 and Information and communication technology (ICT) plays an important role in logistics and supply-chain planning. Logistics can benefit from ICT through better route planning, thereby reducing the number of vehiclekm. However, Internet and E-commerce are assumed to further stimulate just-in-time deliveries which reduce the overall loading efficiency. Using smaller vehicles making more frequent small local deliveries further decreases freight efficiency. EU-wide data on empty hauling is not available, but a few country examples indicate that there are large differences. Empty hauling makes up only 25 % of total truck vehicle-km in Germany (German Federal Ministry of Environment and Nuclear Safety, 2000) and more than 40 % in the Netherlands. In the United Kingdom, empty hauling fell from about 33 % to 29 % of total truck vehicle-km between 1980 and This may be explained by longer journeys, more drops per trip, more loadmatching services, a growth in the reverse flow of packaging material / handling equipment, and greater efforts by shippers to obtain return loads (OECD/ECMT/IEA, 1999). Version

3 Rail Air The average rail loading efficiency in the EU increased slightly between 1980 and 1998 (by 3 %). Rail freight efficiency between 1980 and 1998 increased markedly in the Netherlands (255 %) and the United Kingdom (154 %). Only in Germany, Greece and Ireland did rail freight efficiency decline (by 34, 14 and 11 % respectively) between 1980 and Air freight loading efficiency in the EU is improving, though the rate of improvement is gradually declining. The average load factor in the EU for aeroplanes, expressed as tonne-km per available tonne-km grew from 59 % to 68 % between 1980 and In the Netherlands and Austria air freight efficiency improved by more than 16 %. Luxembourg and the Netherlands show the highest air freight efficiency in More than 75 % of available tonne-km was used. In Greece air freight transport efficiency decreased by 3 % between 1980 and Moreover, Greece showed the lowest efficiency in 1998 (50 % usage of available tonne-km). Improvement of load rate The French mashed potato producer VICO changed the size of its packaging boxes to improve the loading rate of the trucks rented for delivery of its products. Combined with the introduction of specialised software for journey optimisation, the loading rate increased by 60 %. This reduced the requirement for trucks in a year by (8 000 lorries are now rented annually instead of ) for the same amount of products delivered, and reduced distances travelled by km and fuel used by litres. The cost of the investment was about EUR and the payback time for the investment was less then a month. Source: European Commission, 2000 Future work More work is needed to provide reliable and comparable data for load factors for all modes in general and for trucks, rail and sea in particular. Member States recently adopted a Council regulation (EC) No 1172/98) on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road, in which they undertook to compile statistics according to standardised guidelines. More work is needed to develop a better indicator of freight vehicle utilisation. The volume of goods carried is progressively becoming more important as truck space is often filled long before the maximum permitted weight is reached. Weight-based load factors therefore tend to underestimate the true level of utilisation. Statistics should therefore also focus on the volume of goods transported. Further work may be needed to ensure that empty hauling is dealt with in comparable ways in national statistics. An important factor influencing the loading efficiency in freight transport is the replacement of large shipments by a higher number smaller shipments. Just-in-time deliveries may stimulate this development. Statistics should be developed to take this influence into account and investigate its environmental consequences. Version

4 Data Table 1: Load factors road (EU-6), Unit: tonne-km/vehicle-km EU-6 DK D NL P FIN S Table 2: Load factors rail (EU-15), Unit: tonne-km per vehicle-km EU-15 B DK D EL E F IRL I L NL A P FIN S UK * : Table 3: Load factors of major European air carriers (EU-15), ) Unit: % utilisation of available tonne-km EU-15 B DK D EL E F IRL I L NL A P FIN S UK : Version

5 Meta data Technical information Data sources: All statistics are extracted from Eurostat Statistical Compendium, 2001; Description of data: Load factors are calculated by dividing the tonne-km by the vehicle-km for road and rail. The data on vehicle-km is, however, not complete for all countries in the time-series. The air transport load factors are expressed as the number of tonnes carried compared with the available tonne-km. File: Load factors.xls Original measure units: Tonne-km and vehicle-km Original purpose: Geographical coverage: EU-15 (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom). Temporal coverage: Road and rail: 1980, 1985, Air: Methodology and frequency of data collection: Methodology of data manipulation: Road loading efficiency: Gaps in data filled by fitting a straight line between the known values. Qualitative information Strength and weakness (at data level): The data on vehicle-km is relatively unreliable. Therefore, caution should be taken when comparing load factors of trucks. Reliability, accuracy, robustness, uncertainty (at data level): Further work required (for data level and indicator level): Better data on vehicle-km will assure more complete and therefore more relevant time-series. References Danish Ministry of Transport, 1996: The Danish Government s Action Plan for Reduction of the CO 2 Emissions of the Transport Sector. The Danish Ministry of Transport, Denmark, May 1996 DETR, 1998: A New Deal for Transport Better for Everyone. The Government s White Paper on the Future of Transport. Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions. United Kingdom, European Commission, 2000: Good practice in freight transport - A sourcebook. European Commission. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. Luxembourg. Version

6 Eurostat, 2001: Transport and Environment: Statistics for the Transport and Environment Reporting Mechanism (TERM) for the European Union, data European Commission (Eurostat), Luxembourg {Version November 2000} Finish Ministry of Transport and Communication, 1999: Environmental Guidelines for the Transport Sector. Ministry of Transport and Communications, Helsinki, Finland. German Federal Ministry of Environment and Nuclear Safety, 2000: Klimaschutzprogramm der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit. [Climate protection programme of Germany. Federal Ministry of Environment and Nuclear Safety]. Germany, Oktober OECD, ECMT, IEA, 1999: A Logistical Perspective on the Fuel Efficiency of Road Freight Transport. Paper presented for the OECD/ECMT/IEA workshop Improving fuel efficiency in road freight transport: the role of information technologies. Paris, France, 24 February TNO, 1999: TRILOG-Europe Summary Report. Demkes, R., Ter Brugge, R., Verduin, T. TNO Inro, Delft, the Netherlands. References not referred to in text: EEA, 2000: Are we moving in the right direction? Indicators on transport and environment integration in the EU, TERM 2000, European Environment Agency. Copenhagen, Denmark, February Version