Freight shipment modal split and its environmental impacts: An exploratory study

Abstract

Freight transportation activities are responsible for a large share of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Various freight transportation modes have significantly different impacts on air quality and environmental sustainability, and this highlights the need for a better understanding of interregional freight shipment mode choices. This paper develops a binomial logit market share model to predict interregional freight modal share between truck and rail as a function of freight and shipment characteristics. This model can be used to estimate the impacts of various factors, such as oil price, on shippers' mode choice decisions. A set of multiyear freight and geographical information databases was integrated to construct regression models for typical freight commodities. The atmospheric impact levels incurred by different freight modal choice decisions are analyzed to provide insights on the relationship among freight modal split, oil price change, and air quality.Implications: Freight transportation has become a major source of energy consumption and air pollution, and emissions rates vary significantly across different modes. Understanding freight shipment mode choice under various economic and engineering factors will help assess the environmental impacts of freight shipment systems at the national level. This paper develops a binomial logit model for two dominating modes (truck and rail) and shows how this model is incorporated into an environmental impact analysis. The framework will be useful to policy makers to assess the impacts of freight movements on air quality and public health and to mitigate those adverse impacts.

Interaction Mechanism Between the Logistics Industry and Manufacturing Industry–Based on the Perspective of Different Linkage Types

“…Therefore, the interactive relationship between logistics industry and manufacturing industry in different regions is not equal, and the interaction mode and degree between them are also quite different. The key to the common development of the manufacturing industry and logistics industry is to establish a relationship of mutual promotion, mutual benefit and interdependence [1][2][3]. Research on the interactive relationship between the logistics industry and manufacturing industry is helpful to determine the problems existing in the development of the linkage between the manufacturing industry and logistics industry and to explore ways to improve the efficiency of the linkage.…”

Impact of Signalized Intersections on CO2 and NOx Emissions of Heavy Duty Vehicles

“…In the EU, transportation overall is responsible for 14% of CO 2 emissions, as well as a main contributor to the overall NO x emissions [11]. Road and rail transport emissions together account for 32% of the total NO x of the US [12,13], and vehicle emissions altogether have been found to be the major contributor to roadside NO x pollution [14]. Furthermore, freight transport, which is highly dominated by trucks, constitutes 25% of the US's total CO 2 emissions [12,15].…”

Effects of the Fuel Price Increase on the Operating Cost of Freight Transport Vehicles

“…When crude oil price was 50 $/barrel, the prediction for truck and train share were 68% and 32% respectively. While crude oil price changed to $200/barrel, the prediction for truck and train share became 12% and 88%, respectively [14]. The effects of changes in fuel prices on sea freight in Khorramshahr port examined in order to determine the effectiveness level of each factor in changes of transportation costs [15].…”