Reducing Freight Transport CO2 Emissions by Increasing the Load Factor

For a given transport demand, increasing the load is a good way to decrease CO2 emissions without reducing freight mobility. The paper analyses the links between vehicle load, energy efficiency and CO2 emissions and discusses where and how higher load could be achieved. The main determinants of load limitation are vehicle capacity, load rate for loaded trips and empty running. Vehicle capacity can be limited either by rules on weight and dimensions (for instance maximum authorized length and width for trucks), by the characteristics of the route (for instance draught for sea ports and waterways) and/or by the transport mode economy (maximum load weight for airplanes). The load rate for loaded trips is influenced by the volume and characteristics of the demand, mainly shipment size, type of commodity (density) and just-in-time practices, while the rate of empty running is rather influenced by the imbalance of physical trades. These two rates can be upgraded by improving transport organizers’ information, their effectiveness in grouping parcels and shipments in consolidated loads and in reducing freight market barriers. Rising transport cost is an incentive to increase the loading rate and the integration of Europe also provides opportunities for improving the load factor.