Indicator fact sheet. TERM EU Load factors for freight transport

Transcription

1 Indicator fact sheet TERM EU Load factors for freight transport The loading efficiency of road freight transport improved slightly in some Member States, but remained relatively stable or worsened in most. Rail transport loading efficiency has improved in 10 Member States but worsened in others. Air freight transport has become more efficient in most Member States, though no improvements can be observed since Figure 1: Load factors for road, rail and aviation 120 Air Index (1990 = 100) Road (EU-4) Rail NB: EU-4 refers to Denmark, Germany, Finland and Sweden. Aviation is based on percentage utilisation of available tonne-kilometres. Road and rail are based on tonne-kilometres divided by vehicle-kilometres. Results and assessment Policy relevance By increasing vehicle load factors, the growth in freight transport vehicle-kilometres can be reduced. As empty runs account for a significant part of total vehicle-kilometres (see further on in this fact sheet), much progress can be made towards more efficient loading, less vehiclekilometres and hence less environmental pressure. Policy context 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: 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)

2 United Kingdom: The United Kingdom intends to support industry s efforts to identify 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). Denmark: The Danish Government supports demonstration projects which aim to promote environment 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). Finland: The Environmental guidelines of the transport sector set out actions for more efficient and environment 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 (Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, 1999). Environmental context Efficient loading of vehicles results in less vehicle-kilometres being needed to transport the same number of tonnes. Consequently, less environmental damage occurs for transporting the same tonnage NB: In this fact sheet, load factors are expressed as the number of tonne-kilometres per vehiclekilometre, instead of the percentage of available loading capacity (in volume and weight). This means that big trucks with the same percentage of used loading capacity as small trucks still perform better using the definition used in this fact sheet. Therefore, the results presented in this fact sheet should be interpreted with care. Assessment 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-kilometres) and a decreasing size of shipments (TNO, 1999). Additionally, 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. Allowing cabotage can be considered as a step in the right direction with respect to increasing loading factors, by enabling international road hauliers to pick-up and deliver goods outside their own country of origin. This should to some extent prevent hauliers from driving back home empty, provided that sufficient logistic information exchange is present. However, despite impressive growth (10 times higher in 1999 than in 1991) cabotage is still very small at around 0.7 % of national transport (Eurostat, 2002b). Road The load factors of road transport in the EU are gradually increasing. However, this finding is based on four Member States only and might not be valid for the whole EU (see Table 1). Information and communication technology (ICT) plays an important role in logistics and supplychain planning. Logistics can benefit from ICT through better route planning, thereby reducing the number of vehicle-kilometres. However, Internet and e-commerce are assumed to further stimulate just-in-time deliveries, which reduce overall loading efficiency. The use of smaller vehicles to make more frequent small local deliveries further decreases freight efficiency. Empty haulage 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-kilometres in Germany (German Federal Ministry of Environment and Nuclear Safety, 2000) but more than 40 % in the Netherlands. In the United Kingdom, empty hauling fell from about 33 % to 29 % of total truck vehicle-kilometres between 1980 and This may be explained by longer journeys, more drops per trip, more load-matching services, a growth in the reverse flow of

3 packaging material/handling equipment, and greater efforts by shippers to obtain return loads (OECD/ECMT/IEA, 1999). Rail The average rail loading efficiency in the EU increased slightly between 1990 and 1998 (by 4 %). Air Rail freight efficiency increased markedly between 1990 and 1998 in the Netherlands (214 %) and the United Kingdom (92 %). Only in Germany, Greece and Ireland did rail freight efficiency decline (by 24 %, 18 % and 17 % respectively) between 1990 and The highest rail loading factors can be found in Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden; the lowest in Ireland, Greece and Spain (see Table 2). Air freight loading efficiency in the EU improved in the early 1990s, but declined after peaking in The average load factor in the EU for aeroplanes, expressed as tonne-kilometres per available tonne-kilometre grew from 59 % in 1980, to 65 % in 1990, to 68 % between 1990 and In Austria and Luxembourg, air freight efficiency improved by more than 14 % and 29 % respectively. Luxembourg and the Netherlands show the highest air freight efficiency for More than 76 % of available tonne-kilometres were used (see Table 3). In Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom, air freight transport efficiency decreased by between 3 % and 5 % between 1990 and Moreover, Greece showed the lowest efficiency in 1998 (50 % usage of available tonne-kilometres). 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 DETR, 1998, A new deal for transport Better for everyone, UK Government White Paper on the future of transport, Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, United Kingdom, 1998 ( European Commission, 2000, Good practice in freight transport A sourcebook, European Commission, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg ( Eurostat, 2002a, Transport and environment statistics for the transport and environment reporting mechanism (TERM) for the European Union, data , unpublished electronic update, January Eurostat, 2002b, Trends in road freight transport , Statistics in focus (Theme 7 Transport, 2/2002), European Commission (Eurostat), Luxembourg. Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, 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, October 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

4 TNO, 1999, Trilog-Europe summary report, Demkes, R., Ter Brugge, R. and Verduin, T., TNO Inro, Delft, Netherlands. Data Table 1: Road load factors in EU Member States, Unit: tonne-km/vehicle-km Austria N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Belgium N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Denmark Finland France N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Germany N/A Greece N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Ireland N/A N/A N/A N/A Italy N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Luxembourg 3.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Netherlands N/A Portugal N/A N/A N/A Spain N/A N/A N/A N/A Sweden United Kingdom EU N/A Table 2: Rail load factors in EU Member States in 1998 Unit: tonne-km/vehicle-km Load factor Austria 324 Belgium 412 Denmark 302 Finland 569 France 350 Germany 391 Greece 245 Ireland 112 Italy 338 Luxembourg 515 Netherlands 833 Portugal N/A Spain 293 Sweden 560 United Kingdom 511 EU

5 Table 3: Air load factors in EU Member States in 1999 Unit: % utilisation of available tonne-km Load factor Austria 67 Belgium 66 Denmark 64 Finland 53 France 71 Germany 72 Greece 50 Ireland 69 Italy 68 Luxembourg 85 Netherlands 76 Portugal 57 Spain 57 Sweden 64 United Kingdom 62 EU File: TERM EU Load factors.xls Metadata Technical information 1. Data source: All statistics are extracted from Eurostat statistical compendium, Description of data: 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-kilometres divided by the number of vehicle-kilometres (road and rail). The air transport load factors are expressed as the number of tonnes carried compared with the available tonne-kilometres. NB: By using the ratio tonne-kilometres per vehicle-kilometre, 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. Original measure units: Tonne-kilometres and vehicle-kilometres. 3. Geographical coverage: EU-15 (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom). 4. Temporal coverage: Road and rail: , air: Methodology and frequency of data collection: data on passenger-kilometres and tonnekilometres by mode are collected annually by an ECMT, Eurostat and UNECE jointly developed common questionnaire on inland transport statistics. 6. Methodology of data manipulation, including making early estimates : EU-4 load factors for road are calculated by using the base data on vehicle-kilometres and tonne-kilometres for the selection of countries

6 Quality information 7. Strength and weakness (at data level): The data on vehicle-kilometres is relatively unreliable. Therefore, caution should be taken, particularly when comparing load factors of trucks. 8. Reliability, accuracy, robustness, uncertainty (at data level): data on load factors are results of dividing data sets with significant uncertainty (tonne-kilometres and vehicle-kilometres). The results can therefore not be regarded as very reliable. They are, however, the best data available at EU level. 9. Overall scoring (give 1 to 3 points: 1 = no major problems, 3 = major reservations): 3 Relevancy: 2 (Load factors in terms of percentage of loading capacity used would be a more exact indicator.) Accuracy: 3 (Tonne-kilometres and vehicle-kilometre data are estimated and rather uncertain combining both leads to data that are even less reliable.) Comparability over time: 2 (Many data gaps, but the same methodology is applied to the data.) Comparability over space: 3 (Data on vehicle-kilometres are poorly harmonised; tonnekilometres data also have their limitations. The resulting load factors should be compared with care between countries.) Further work required 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 adopted a Council regulation (1172/98/EC) 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 negatively is the replacement of large shipments by a higher number of 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. Distinguishing between short and longer trips is not possible, due to lack of sufficiently disaggregated data. It is, however, important. Another aspect requiring more detailed statistics is the distinction between vans and trucks. Box 1: 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 than a month. Source: European Commission,