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Freight on a Low-Carbon Diet: Accessibility, Freightsheds, and Commodities
Michael N Taptich1, Arpad Horvath1
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California , Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
Environmental Science & Technology
|September 5, 2015
Summary
Optimizing freight transport accessibility by considering greenhouse gas (GHG) budgets reveals that intermodal terminal upgrades can significantly boost GHG savings for goods like meat/seafood and paper articles.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Transportation Geography
- Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Background:
- Freight infrastructure is crucial for trade, influencing the environmental footprint of goods movement.
- The spatial arrangement of freight networks impacts accessibility and emissions.
- Understanding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is vital for sustainable trade.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the spatial distribution of consumer-producer exchanges under different GHG budgets.
- To analyze the impact of GHG emission preferences on freight accessibility.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of truck-to-rail mode-switching policies.
Main Methods:
- Case studies using truck and intermodal rail freight for meat/seafood and paper articles.
- Analysis of spatial accessibility under varying GHG budgets.
- Quantification of potential GHG savings from upgrading intermodal terminals.
Main Results:
- Geographic trade possibilities vary by transportation mode, location, and commodity under GHG constraints.
- Intermodal terminal availability is a key factor for low-GHG accessibility.
- Current terminals limit meat/seafood and paper accessibility, with only 4.9% and 0.7% capacity, respectively.
Conclusions:
- Upgrading intermodal terminals to accommodate all goods could increase US GHG savings from truck-to-rail policies by 70% for meat/seafood and 310% for paper.
- Enhancing intermodal infrastructure is essential for achieving significant GHG reductions in freight transport.
- Policy interventions targeting terminal upgrades can unlock substantial environmental benefits.
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