Traditional
cargo transportation solutions didn't have the environment at the top of their
priority lists. However,
things are changing for the better. The environmental issue is something that
many industries are tackling now, and the transportation industry is no
different. That makes sense since transportation is among the biggest culprits
for various sorts of pollution, CO2 and other hazardous substances emission.
Luckily, people are becoming more aware of the impact they are having on the
environment and they know that something has to change. Read on to find out
more about some eco-friendly cargo transportation solutions.
Transportation industry needs to be more environmentally aware
What
are the options for cargo transportation?
Every successful company depends
tremendously on their logistics. The goods and services have to be delivered in
a timely manner, and that used to be all that the customers cared about. Nowadays,
these customers are becoming more environmentally aware and they want to
know that the transportation of their goods was done with the least possible
impact to the nature around us. They are also more aware of energy consumption and global warming. With that in mind, let's take a
look at the options for cargo transportation:
- Maritime cargo transportation - It accounts for 90 percent
of all goods shipped from and to all parts of the world. Its
advantages are that it is rather safe and cost-effective. The cargo
ships can carry large volumes of goods too. One of the disadvantages of
maritime shipping is that such transport is time-consuming. Even
though maritime transportation is the least polluting mode of transport
(per tonne of cargo transported over long distances), the sound and oil
pollutions are still an issue.
- Airfreight - The main advantages of this
transportation mode are speed and global reach. On the other hand, it is quite
expensive and not environmentally friendly.
- Railway cargo transport - The trains can carry large
quantities of goods and they are a much greener option than road
transport. However, they can't carry abnormal cargo. Plus, there might
be additional costs to move the goods from the rail station to the final
destination.
- Road transport - This is the most
practical option for short-distance cargo transportation. But, this
mode of transport is highly dependent on road conditions and it is
not one of the eco-friendly cargo transportation solutions (with the
exception of the trucks running on bio-diesel and energy from renewable
sources).
Rail
is the most eco-friendly option
Environmental sustainability is a crucial issue nowadays. The experts from
transportation and the logistics sector are constantly searching for ways to
improve the efficiency of the transport while reducing the emission and leaving
the minimal carbon footprint. They also need to find options that are
cost-efficient for service providers and service users. Railway turned out to
be one such solution. Since the cost of fuel is constantly rising, more and
more companies are choosing this sort of transport for their goods.
Railway transport is the fastest and the least expensive option for long distances
Trains can move their freight much
faster and they are more eco-friendly too. As a matter of fact, the emissions
of Carbon dioxide (CO2) are eight times less for rail transport than
trucking. Also, trains can avoid congestions so they do not depend on
traffic jams. The greatest advantage of rail is that it is able to transport
large quantities of goods over long distances. In addition, the cargo train
only needs two people to operate it (and it can even pull a hundred rail cars).
We would need 300 trucks which means at least 300 truck drivers to transfer the
same amount of goods by trucks.
The transition from trucks to trains
is taking place at the moment, and we will see the results in the years to
come. Let's add one more to the list of railway advantages - if you need temperature-controlled environment for your items you will most certainly find the
solution in railway transport.
Short
sea shipping is also one of eco-friendly cargo transport solutions
When you can afford to be flexible
about the time of your shipment's arrival, you should use the short-sea
shipping option. The cost of this service is significantly lower than the same
cargo transportation done by an airline. Besides cost-efficiency, short-sea
shipping also prioritizes eco-friendliness over shipment time. That
means that your shipment might not arrive ASAP, but the means of transport
carrying it will not have a tremendous negative effect on the environment.
The roads in all urbanized areas are becoming
more crowdy by the day. That causes delays in cargo transport and the
increase in the emission of CO2. The solution is in replacing at least
some parts of the road with short-sea routes. Actually, that is what some
carriers have already started doing.
Maritime transport is the most reliable, yet one of the most eco-friendly cargo transportation solutions
The good news is that even some
smaller ports have started overtaking the shipments. That will shorten the
times of delivery and decrease the impact on the environment. It means that
some distances that are handled by trucks at the moment, could be conquered by
ships.
FCL
and LCL
Short-sea shipping used to be
connected to Full Container Load (FCL). However, the option named Less than
Container Load (LCL) is becoming more and more popular. This is perfect for
smaller quantities of goods. If you want to send something that doesn't take up
as much space, you don't need the FCL service. LCL is about sharing the
capacity, so this option is both cost-efficient and eco-friendly. This can
reduce the strain on roads which is one of the biggest benefits of LCL.
Choosing
vehicles that use eco-friendly fuels is a step in the right direction
The vast majority of the vehicles used for cargo
transport (some 90 percent of them) still use the oil-based fuels. But, there is an alternative and it is called
liquid natural gas (LNG). This type of fuel is perfect for larger vehicles
since the smaller ones do not have the capacity for storage. The recent studies
have shown that the heavy-duty trucks using LNG emit 20% fewer greenhouse gases
than those using oil-based fuels. As you probably know the greenhouse effect is
to be blamed for longer and colder winters that we have all over the world.
The future lies in solar and wind power
Some
more eco-friendly cargo transportation solutions are the vehicles using
solar power (trucks with solar panels) or energy produced from renewable
sources (bio-diesel and wind power). And that is the direction the road cargo
transport should be going in.
Acknowledgment
We thank the contribution of Lisa Roberts
