GHG Mitigation

Freight

U.S. Department of Transportation

Assessing the Effects of Freight Movement on Air Quality at the National and Regional Level, Federal Highway Administration (April 2005). This report evaluates the impacts of freight transportation on national and regional air quality and discusses technological and operational strategies that can mitigate freight emissions. The report concludes with recommendations for further research to explore linkages between freight transportation and air quality.

Assessment of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Benefits of Heavy Duty Natural Gas Vehicles in the United States, U.S. DOT Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting (September 2005). This paper presents a review of existing literature on emission factors, emission data collection techniques, and analytic approaches; presents the results of SAIC's analysis of available CO2 and CH4 GHG emission data from chassis dynamometer tests of heavy-duty vehicle exhaust; and provides suggestions for further reducing this uncertainty. The research focused on emissions data from diesel-, LNG-, and CNG-fueled heavy-duty vehicles.

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Academia

Best Practices Guidebook for Greenhouse Gas Reductions in Freight Transportation, Dr. H. Christopher Frey, North Carolina State University (October 2007). This guidebook considers all modes of freight transport, including air, road, rail, and marine transport. For the trucking sector, the report identifies 33 best practices for reducing GHG, potentially by 25 percent below 2003 levels by 2025 (compared to a projected increase of 67 percent in truck GHG if best practices are not implemented.

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Other Resources

Improving Fuel Economy in Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Resources for the Future (March 6, 2012). This issue brief examines the first federal regulations mandating improvements in the fuel economy of heavy-duty commercial vehicles, issued jointly by EPA and NHTSA in September 2011. The brief cites issues in the underlying cost-benefit analysis for the regulation and certain flaws in this type of “performance-based” regulation, including manufacturer concerns about the available technologies. The brief also criticizes the regulations for addressing only the design and initial performance of vehicles rather than addressing their use. The authors conclude by suggesting that alternative regulations should target vehicle use either through a carbon tax or fossil fuel rationing scheme.

Smart Moves: Creative Supply Chain Strategies Are Cutting Transport Costs and Emissions, Environmental Defense Fund (Feb. 17, 2012). This report presents a collection of innovative strategies that shippers can use to reduce freight costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The report looks at companies that have successfully shifted cargo to more carbon-efficient modes of transportation, changed inventory management practices, optimized distribution networks, reduced energy use at warehouse and distribution centers, and other activities.

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