Title: FREIGHT TRANSPORT ENERGY CONSUMPTION: A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE EFFICIENCY OF THE MODES IN THE NON-BULK TASK
Abstract: This paper looks at the Australian domestic freight task to determine what parts of the task are suitable for the purpose of making comparisons between the modes, and then examines the energy efficiency of road, rail and sea freight when undertaking comparable tasks. Existing information on freight movements in Australia is reviewed, from which it is deduced that the non-urban non-bulk component, which is considered to be the main area where significant potential for modal transfer exists, represents approximately 19 per cent of the total tonne-kilometres carried by all modes. This sector is at present shared between the modes in the proportions road 62 per cent, rail 30 per cent and sea 8 per cent. The general characteristics of energy consumption by transport are then discussed in the context of the overall liquid fuel supply, and it is found that transport as a whole consumes 57 per cent of total oil supplies. All non- urban freight (including bulk movements) consumes 8.3 per cent, with the non-bulk component difficult to estimate accurately, but almost certainly consuming less than 4 per cent of total supplies. Thus it is seen that the fuel conservation potential of intermodal transfers of non-bulk freight is small in percentage terms (probably less than 1 per cent) although the effect measured in terms of numbers of truck or train movements along trunk routes could be very significant. From these preliminary considerations of the freight task and fuel usage in aggregate terms the paper then turns to a detailed examination of the energy efficiency characteristics of road, rail and sea transport in the non-bulk task. (TRRL)
Publication Year: 1981
Publication Date: 1981-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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