A great piece in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye last week.  The article highlighted the impressive productivity gains trucking fleets have made recently. These, in turn, have led to a reduction in average truck miles of two percent from 2006. 

Two percent might not seem like much. But, by increasing the productivity of these assets, this change avoided over 8 million tons of carbon pollution last year.That’s no small feat.

As the article noted, these gains weren’t the result of a new technology or a superior truck. These gains were driven by operational improvements, such as  moving more goods per truck because of lighter weight and smaller packages, and better planning and routing so there are fewer empty trucks on the road. These are the exact types of operational strategies that comprise our Five Principles For Improving Supply Chain Efficiency And Sustainability.

When it comes to the carbon reduction potential of these  strategies, an 8 million ton reduction is just the tip of the iceberg.  Supply chain optimization and modal switches can save millions more tons. Collaborative logistics strategies have the potential to cut annual emissions by 200 million tons. These steps save companies money too – as Ocean Spray Cranberries has demonstrated.  We need to do all of these … and we need to do a lot more too.

For as important as these efficiency steps are, they are not going to be sufficient on their own. 

Fact of the matter is that emissions from freight transportation are projected to increase by nearly 200 million metric tons over the coming years.  For context, this increase is greater than what is expected in the commercial, industrial or residential sectors.  Freight already accounts for over half-a-billion tons of carbon pollution each year in the U.S.  We simply can’t afford to see such a significant growth in freight emissions.

So, how do we not only avoid this growth in emissions, but actually bring them down?  We need to pair increases in significant productivity gains with radically more efficient trucks.

Trucks are expected to account for over 80 percent of the increase in freight greenhouse gas emissions. Successful efforts to not only slow the growth in freight emissions – but actually reduce emissions from today’s levels, must improve trucks first and foremost.

Increasing the productivity of trucks is a needed step forward.  Every time a company gets more products on a truck or avoids an empty backhaul it equates to fewer trucks on the road. Using more carbon efficient modes is critical too.  Rail emits six times less carbon per ton mile than trucks. Ultimately, there will still be a lot of trucks on the road and we need for these to be as efficient as possible.

It was, therefore, great to also read in the article the interest truck buyers and truck makers have in more efficient trucks.  As the piece noted,

“Truck makers are pinning their hopes on more fuel-efficient vehicles to stimulate replacement demand, looking to emulate the success of auto makers in driving demand back to pre-recession levels.” And;

“A loaded heavy-duty tractor with a detachable trailer typically uses a gallon of fuel every 5 to 6.5 miles. Getting just one more mile a gallon saves thousands of dollars a year on the fuel cost for a single truck.”

How far can we push these trucks? Cummins and Peterbilt recently revealed that they built a truck for the DOE Supertruck program that "averaged 9.9 miles a gallon in road tests last fall."

Also, the CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) Martin Daum recently called for his company to deliver a 10 MPG truck to the U.S. market. He noted that the company – which is the market leader for truck chassis and number two for truck engines – already manufactures a tractor that combined with a full trailer aerodynamic package can produce today a 9.3 mpg tractor-trailer today.

We have the technology to build radically more efficient trucks today. We also have the knowhow to use them much more productively. Let’s do it.

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The use of natural gas to power our nation’s freight fleet vehicles is a hot topic in these days of rising diesel and falling natural gas prices. There are several reasons to be excited about this opportunity, including operating cost savings, use of a domestic fuel source, and the potential for a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to diesel heavy-duty trucks. However, significant concerns remain with the development of new gas supplies, including the threat of fugitive methane emissions from natural gas vehicles and the fuel supply chain.

Methane is the main ingredient in natural gas and a GHG pollutant many times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2), the principal contributor to man-made climate change. Even small amounts of methane leakage across the natural gas supply chain can undermine the climate benefit of switching to natural gas from other fossil fuels for some period of time.

In a paper published last year, EDF scientists and other leading researchers examined the impact of potential fugitive emissions on the climate benefits of a switch from diesel to natural gas heavy-duty trucks. The study found that, according to the best available data, methane leak rates would need to be below 1% of gas produced in order to ensure that switching from diesel to natural gas produces climate benefits at all points in time. They also found that – using the EPA leakage rate estimates at that time – converting a fleet of heavy duty diesel vehicles to natural gas would result in increased climate warming for more than 250 years before any climate benefits were achieved.

EDF is working with leading researchers and companies in a series of studies designed to better understand and characterize the methane leak rate across the natural gas supply chain. The studies will take direct measurements at various points across the production, gathering and processing, long distance transmission and storage, local distribution, and transportation. The first study, led by researchers at the University of Texas, is measuring emissions from natural gas production. Results will be released in the coming months.

This content was originally published on EDF's Energy Exchange blog.

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Corporations aren't paying enough attention to the massive global impact of their carbon emissions from transporting freight — yet there are simple steps they can take to reduce their shipping footprints.

Last month, EDF released the first in a series of case studies intended to draw attention to the significant potential for emission improvements and cost reductions from this sector.

The challenge

Freight transportation is a small component of the overall lifecycle environmental impact for most products. For example, it’s less than 5 percent for a pair of Timberland shoes, 8 percent for a six pack of Fat Tire craft beer, and 10 percent for an iPad. Companies have to prioritize where in their supply chain to focus on environmental improvements. It is natural for them to focus first on the largest contributors to their footprint.

Of course, every single product has a transportation footprint. So those percentages add up across the economy. Moving freight within the U.S. creates over 500 million metrics ton of carbon emissions each year.  Freight already emits more carbon pollution than lighting, cooling, heating, ventilating and powering equipment in all U.S. commercial office space. Worse still, freight emissions are projected to increase nearly 40 percent from current levels by 2040 — even with the enactment of the first-ever truck efficiency standards.

The good news

Companies that take a systemic metric-based approaches to freight sustainability are finding significant savings. Example number one is Ocean Spray Cranberries. By making smart process changes to one of its primary transportation and distribution routes, it reduced emissions for the route by 20 percent while cutting costs for the route by 40 percent.

To achieve these impressive results, Ocean Spray deployed three of EDF’s Five Principles of Carbon-Efficient Shipping. It chose the most carbon-efficient mode possible, collaborated with other shippers, and redesigned its network for efficiency.

As this case demonstrates, shippers — the consumers of freight services that don’t own or directly operate trucks, trains, ships or planes — have significant control over the environmental footprint of logistics operations. Their decisions on where products are made and stored, how they are designed and packaged, and how much time is allotted for transit have a tremendous impact on carbon efficiency.

The proof

EDF believes all shippers have a significant opportunity to advance their sustainability goals by improving their supply chain logistics.

Through this case study series, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Edgar Blanco of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, we will demonstrate how several very different companies have been able to identify carbon- and cost-reduction opportunities in their supply chain logistics operations.

Are there emissions reductions ready to be harvested from your supply chain logistics operations?  Yes. The biggest challenge is knowing where to look. We hope that this case study series will help to direct you to undertake similar improvements in your supply chain.

Learn more about EDF's work in supply chain logistics.

*****

To learn more about the efforts of Ocean Spray or this case study series, sign up to attend the GreenBiz Forum being held in New York February 19-21.  Representatives from MIT, EDF, and Ocean Spray will hold a workshop, Smarter Moves: Practical Supply Chain Strategies, the afternoon of February 20th.

This content was originally published on Greenbiz.com.

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Being the parent of a toddler, sharing is a concept that I’m emphasizing at home a lot these days.  Turns out, it’s a good concept to remember at the office too.  A fantastic new report from the CELDi Physical Internet Project at the University of Arkansas details how if companies embraced the sharing of freight resources, “profits for participating firms would increase by $100 billion, carbon dioxide emissions from road-based freight would decrease by at least 33 percent  and consumers would pay less for goods.”

And that is assuming just a 25 percent adoption rate.

According to the report, the “transportation industry is largely segmented with over three-quarters of freight being carried using dedicated resources.” Meaning that manufacturers, consumer product companies (CPGs), retailers and other shippers most often want to move their goods on a truck that contains only their products.  This is the result of replenishment time pressures, delivery predictability,and order size requirements. This use of dedicated trucking, though, leads to a lot of underutilized trucks. Only 43 percent of current trucking capacity is being utilized, according to the report.

Think about that – nearly six out of every ten trucks you see on the highway could be taken off the road today with no impact on our overall capacity to move products.

The power to make this change lies most directly with the diversified manufacturers and CPGs.  By changing some of their practices, they can fundamentally transform how the movers of freight operate.

Specifically, the report calls on these shippers to adopt the specific changes below.

1. Embrace vendor-managed inventory, which enables inventory to be held closer to the point of sale (often retailers).
2. Reduce the minimum order size from a truckload level to a full-pallet equivalent.
3. Use standardized modular containers when making pallets.
4. Deploy different logistics models for replenishment stock – which is ideal for collaboration – and seasonal and promotional items, which are often better served with a dedicated freight model.
5. Procure freight services via a freight transportation “auction” specifically designed for collaboration.

By embracing these actions, CPGs and diversified manufacturers can unleash a wave of innovation that will push their overall distribution model towards a relay network approach instead of the hub-and-spoke model so common today. This will lead to less long-haul trucking and much more predictable short-haul freight. It will raise the use of intermodal transportation (i.e. rail-truck combos) by 90 percent.

Retailers and logistics service providers will need to work with the CPGs and the diversified manufactures to provide the flexibility and services to enable this transition. But, by working together, all parties have a significant opportunity to benefit.

Truck drivers will be home much more often.

Trucking companies will see a huge drop in driver turnover.

Retailers will receive higher levels of service in terms of more frequent deliveries.

CPGs will see lower overall trucking costs and a reduction in inventory carry costs.

All of this is possible while also cutting global warming pollution from the freight sector by 233 million metric tons a year – equivalent to over four percent of total U.S. emissions.

The biggest barrier to adopting the practices seems to be our will to push beyond the current ways of doing business.  As the report notes, “88 percent of companies believe that collaborating with carriers, suppliers and customers will lead to more economical supply chain processes,” yet “only 10-30 percent of companies collaborate in their supply chain in any form.”

$100 billion in annual savings and more than 200 million metric tons of carbon reductions are numbers too large for us to pass up.  Let’s all learn to become better sharers.

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When it comes to sustainability strategies, collaborative distribution is the total package: improved business value proposition, sizable cost reduction and promise of significant emissions reductions.  The potential of this strategy is why EDF listed it #2 on our Five Rules for a More Carbon-Efficient Freight Supply Chain.

Under a collaborative distribution arrangement, companies in the same or similar industries share warehouse and distribution assets. Because the products from participating companies are going to the same destinations, this arrangement enables more efficient loading of trucks, more frequent deliveries and fewer truck miles, which equals lower emissions. A third party logistics firm is typically involved in these arrangements and ensures the security of proprietary data and fair treatment of the products for all participating companies.

For a great, short introduction to the topic, see a video from Kane is Able.

Others agree with our high opinion of collaborative distribution too. Capgemini and the Global Commerce Initiative highlighted the strategy in their 2016: Future Supply Chain report. The report found that collaborative supply chain logistics have the potential to slash costs by more than 30 percent and increase carbon efficiency by 25 percent. A leading freight industry publication, Inbound Logistics, has noted that collaborative distribution “warrants serious consideration” from shippers.

It’s not all smooth sailing, though, for collaboration in the logistics space. As supply chain guru Art van Bodegraven recently noted, while supply chain managers understand that collaboration is vital for survival over the coming years, “we're not very good at it.”

Why not? Well, many shippers have concerns about possible information disclosure to competitors, but several direct competitors have been able to overcome this potential obstacle.  A leading provider of collaborative distribution services has suggested that “the barrier to broad adoption is really the inertia created by years and years of implementing the current distribution model.” I’m inclined to agree with this sentiment.

In a recent EDF report, Smart Moves, we highlighted the efforts of many companies, including Best Buy, Sun-Maid Growers, Just Born and The Topps Company, Inc, that are leveraging collaborative distribution. We also pointed to the Hershey’s and Ferrero announcement about plans to collaborate on warehousing, transportation and distribution in North America. When announcing the collaboration, the companies highlighted the cost and emissions-reduction benefits of the deal.

Collaboration, of course, is not limited to warehousing and distribution. Other examples highlighted in Smart Moves include:

Back-Haul Matching

• Macy’s and trucking company Schneider National demonstrated the value of reducing empty backhauls through Empty Miles Service, an online service provided by the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association (VICS). This program helps participating companies expand their network of others wanting to identify matches for their empty backhauls. In the pilot project, Macy’s and Schneider found an average annual savings of $25,000 per lane (regular trucking routes) and were able to reduce per-lane carbon emissions by 150 tons. Given that Macy’s operates over eight hundred stores and likely even more lanes, the potential savings of this program are enormous.

 Co-Loading Freight

• Dal-Tile Corporation, the largest U.S. manufacturer of ceramic tile, recently increased container utilization rates by finding freight from other companies that could be loaded atop their floor tiles. Because floor tiles are heavy, Dal-Tile previously was unable to use the full cubic space of the trailers they were shipping from Mexico to distribution centers in the U.S. Lighter freight from other companies enabled Dal-Tile and its partners to cut transportation costs up to 15 percent per load.

Companies have significant opportunities to reduce freight costs and associated emissions by working with other shippers. Those leaders showing the way have demonstrated solutions to the greatest concerns shippers have about data security and allocation of cost savings. It time for more companies to embrace collaborative distribution.

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Timing is everything, and companies facing choices around freight transportation modes must consider transit times, inventory levels and demand forecasts when making decisions. Ease pressure on these variables and you enable companies to utilize cheaper and more carbon-efficient modes of transportation.

In many cases, companies can increase the flexibility of their supply chains by developing methods that reduce risk associated with poor demand forecasts.  One way of doing so is to delay product assembly – a process known simply as ”postponement.” This allows companies to maximize the value of their inventory, respond to changing tastes and meet consumer customization demands.  EDF included these two case examples of postponement in our recent report, Smart Moves:

• Bang & Olufsen, the Danish luxury video and audio maker, avoids overstocking inventory by assembling and packaging final goods at a separate facility, enabling them to meet customer specific demands for features, color and size without creating excess inventory.

• A manufacturer in the kitchen and bath industry implemented a process of kitting semi-finished goods at a regional distribution center instead of at the manufacturing plant. This change allowed the manufacturer “to ship the product’s components individually, maximizing trailer cube capacity,” and saving nearly 50% on freight costs.

Benetton was also recently highlighted for its postponement strategy by Dr. Edgar Blanco from MIT. The company delayed the final dyeing the sweaters in order to better respond to uncertainty about demand. As a result, the company was able to reduce unsold stock from 33% to 8%.

Expedited services from leading ocean and rail freight companies require nearly  three weeks to move goods from Asia to North America, so shippers must plan ahead and build flexibility into their systems to maximize the use of the most carbon-efficient modes of transportation. For many products, postponement can be an effective strategy to increase flexibility and enable the use of more efficient transport.

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Fuel prices are back on the rise and companies are taking stock of opportunities to reduce costs and exposure to oil price spikes. The future trends in freight growth also call attention to the need to dramatically improve the efficiency of the current freight system.

From 2010 to 2040, global demand for energy to power freight movement is expected to increase by over 70%, according to Exxon. Freight movement already accounts for nearly three billion metric tons of heat-trapping carbon emissions each year. That’s equal to over 700 coal plants or the combined total global warming pollution from Japan, Germany, Canada and Mexico. Clearly, such growth in conventional energy demand is not sustainable.

Corporate action will ultimately determine the path forward for freight. By taking steps today to dramatically increase the carbon-efficiency of their logistics, companies can put freight on a path towards a more sustainable future. In essence, they can buy time for the technology developments and new policies that ultimately are needed.

A new report from Environmental Defense Fund, Smart Moves, documents a range of options companies can use today to reduce freight spend and associated emissions. In the report, we highlight over two dozen case examples of companies that have cut costs while increasing freight carbon-efficiency. From these stories, we’ve create five rules for a more carbon-efficiency freight supply chain. These are:

1. Choose the most carbon-efficient mode possible.  When it comes to carbon emissions per ton-mile, planes emit 47 times more than container ships and trucks emit six times more than trains.  Clearly differentiating cargo that needs to be expedited from that which doesn’t is step one; other options include vendor-managed inventory and even moving final assembly closer to the client.
2. Collaborate with other shippers.  Are there opportunities to merge your warehouses and distribution assets with other companies?  Ship products directly to the client and avoid warehousing altogether?  Match “back-haul” lanes with other shippers to improve efficiency?  All of these strategies are being used successfully.
3. Redesign your own network for efficiency.  New logistics tools can help to optimize warehouse locations, shipping routes and modal connections.
4. Get the most out of each move.  Set goals for trailer utilization, look for new ways to combine loads and use the best new software to optimize orders.  Redesigning and consolidating packaging can also increase utilization while decreasing damage.
5. Increase energy efficiency in distribution centers.  These vital links account for 11 percent of the carbon footprint of goods movement. Changes to HVAC, lighting, motor controls and refrigeration can be quick payback ways to save energy and emissions.

Companies exercise significant control over the environmental footprint of logistics operations. Their decisions on where products are made and stored, how they are designed and packaged, and how much time is allotted for transit have a tremendous impact on carbon and cost efficiency. What smart moves is your company making?

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The most impactful sustainability decision made by logisticians is the choice of transportation mode to move their freight. Planes emit 47 times more carbon per ton mile than container ships; trucks emit six times more carbon per ton mile than trains.

The more carbon intensive modes typically cost more as well. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal mentioned that air freight cost five to six times more than ocean freight. So why do companies utilize air freight?  Well, as the article also points out, the use decision is all about inventory trade-offs.

Longer supply chains and slower, more carbon-efficient transportation modes require higher levels of inventory in the system. As it can take nearly a month to get goods to the U.S. from Asia, companies need to have more than a month’s worth of inventory in their distribution system. This leads to two main problems:  holding this inventory costs money and there is a risk that it won’t all be sold.

Many companies are making great strides for sustainability and their bottom line by finding ways to make ocean freight fit within their supply chain. In Smart Moves, Environmental Defense Fund highlighted several of these companies. They include:

Nike, which since 2003 has been using air freight more carefully and sending an increasing amount of its cargo by ocean freight. As a result, it saved over $8 million in 2009 alone while also reducing its emissions per product moved by four percent reduction with these changes. On an absolute basis, it was able to limit growth in its carbon emissions from inbound logistics to 14 percent while increasing revenues by 70 percent.

HP also found savings in switching from air freight to ocean freight while still meeting time and inventory carrying cost pressures. The company changed most shipments of its Visual Collaboration studio – a TelePresence conferencing system – to ocean freight. This resulted in a savings of $7,000 and nearly 900 tons of carbon per shipment.

Michael Kors utilized an innovative ocean freight service that matched loads into full containers and quickly transferred the goods from ship to truck once in port. As a result, the company was able to reduce the transit time 30 percent and cut freight costs by $20 per bag.

D.W. Morgan, a transportation and logistics provider, partnered with a client to reduce inventory on the client’s books, which enabled its freight to flow via ships. D. W. Morgan picked up product at the manufacturing facility in Asia and then took title to the shipment. It also arranged for transportation to its U.S. facilities. The client arranged for delivery, only as needed, from D. W. Morgan’s U.S. fulfillment center. By doing so, the client did not take ownership of the product until it was delivered to its door.

Abercrombie & Fitch, as described by the Wall-Street Journal, also has had significant success in reducing its use of air freight. Since 2008, the company has reduced “the percentage of its inventory flown into the U.S. to 12%, from 60%”

Clearly it is possible for many companies to significantly cut their use of air freight.

For me, the key take away from the WSJ article, was the target role for air freight at Abercrombie & Fitch going forward. The company’s Senior Vice President of Supply Chain stated that its aim was to keep air freight “between 10% and 20% of products.”

This target recognizes that, given the length of supply chains and the nature of many industries, air freight has a role. Obviously from the sustainability perspective, the more limited the role of air freight the better. It can enable companies to quickly introduce trendy products and to expedite replenish stock hot-selling goods. It probably shouldn’t be the primary transportation choice, though.

Like the items on the top of the food pyramid, air freight is best when used sparingly.

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Tuesday Morning, an “off-price” retailer with over 850 stores, has been able to transition 20% of its inbound freight to a rail/truck intermodal mix, according to Logistics Management. The goods typically travel from Asia to the ports of LA and Long Beach. From there they travel over 1,400 miles to the company’s one distribution center, which is located outside of Dallas.

At first glance, there doesn’t seem much that is newsworthy about this story.  Over the past several years that I have been working on freight sustainability, I’ve heard hundreds of times that rail starts to become competitive with trucking for trips over 500 miles.  So, for trips nearly three times that length, it should be a slam-dunk, right?

It is, of course, more complicated. There are a lot of important variables for the logistics managers to consider, such as reliability. As the article makes clear, class one railroads need to overcome multi-decade long perception of subpar service levels. Most companies, of course, put a premium on certainty when it comes to their supply chain. The railroads have made significant strides in service, including such innovations as running non-stop “sprint” trains between high-volume destinations.

As a result of the improved focus on service, the industry now has their clients saying things like, “rail carriers are just as dependable as truckload these days. It’s a different service standard, of course. But once you get calibrated with that service standard, it’s been my experience the rails are very dependable,” as the Tuesday Morning logistics manager noted.

Intermodal can be a very successful freight sustainability strategy. Rail emits six times less carbon per ton mile than trucks. An intermodal mixture of rail and truck, enables companies to take advantage of the cost and carbon benefits of rail for the bulk of the trip while still getting the flexibility of trucks at the beginning and end of the journey.

The cost savings are nothing to sneeze at either. The transportation logistics manager at Tuesday Morning noted that they were “significant.” The CEO of a logistics service provider noted in a recent Journal of Commerce article that intermodal could provide “10 to 20 percent savings and sometimes more.”

Many factors point towards a greater role for intermodal freight over the coming years, including sustained high diesel costs, sustainability goals, truck driver shortages, tight carrier capacity and road congestion. Despite these converging factors, intermodal traffic has had an uneven ride of the past several years.  As noted in the Journal of Commerce, intermodal loads have gone from 12.3 million in 2006 to 11.3 million in 2011.

A sure sign to shippers that it is time to look a new at intermodal solutions can be found by looking at the actions of the nation’s leading trucking companies. They are betting big on intermodal.

A partnership between Averitt Express and Union Pacific enabled Tuesday Morning to take its first steps into intermodal. Intermodal accounts for about a third of revenues for trucking giant Schneider National. Just last month the company announced a multi-year agreement with CSX. J.B. Hunt has developed a nation-wide intermodal network through partnerships with BNSF and Norfolk Southern.

Ultimately, what is most news worthy in the Tuesday Morning story is the fact that it is still news when large or mid-size shippers take the plunge and give intermodal rail a chance. Time and again, we hear how companies such as The Container Store, Kohl’s, Welch’s,  or Walmart, are successfully sending more of their freight via rail. Yet, each case has the same story line about the need for rail to prove itself as reliable. At what point do companies look at the clear success of others and say, “yes” to rail?

If you company isn’t using rail, maybe it’s time to consider it.  For those that already have a toe in the water, maybe it’s time to make a bigger commitment.

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Today, more than  50 million tons of freight are on the move throughout the United States. Many products can be found onboard ships in our nation’s largest ports. Some of the heaviest cargo is moving along in rail cars, and a few of the highest value items are flying in the belly of planes.. And many of these goods are rolling along our highways in tractor-trailers. All of these items are moving under the guidance of a select group of companies know in the freight industry as shippers.

Shippers exercise significant control over the environmental footprint of logistics operations. They are responsible for many of our favorite brands of shoes, stoves and sweets. A new report released today by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Smart Moves, presents a collection of innovative strategies that shippers can use to cut freight costs and reduce environmental impact.

A few of the leading examples from the report include:

• The Container Store utilized rail for some of its outbound moves (distribution center to retail store), and saved the company $300,000 while also reducing carbon emissions by over 40 percent;
• Michael Kors made effective use of ocean freight in the time-sensitive world of high fashion through a time-guaranteed ocean freight service that cut emissions per move by over 90 percent and reduced freight costs by $20 per bag;
• Hershey’s and Ferrero collaborated on an innovative distribution model that leading industry experts claim could slash costs by more than 30 percent and increase carbon efficiency by 25 percent; and
• Kraft Foods leveraged cutting-edge software to increase the utilization of its trucks, and ultimately cut costs and emissions.

In current times of persistently high fuel costs, freight choices that are good for the environment are good for the bottom line.

The stakes are high and the need for action is urgent. All told, the global freight transportation and distribution system accounts for nearly three billion metric tons of heat-trapping carbon emissions each year. That’s equal to over 700 coal plants. Most concerning, freight transportation is rising quickly.

ExxonMobil recently reported that freight transport is “expected to rise in all regions of the world, even with significant gains in efficiency.” It projected that “global energy demand for transportation will rise by nearly 45 percent from 2010 to 2040.”  Freight transportation is the expected driver for much of this growth.

A 45 percent growth in emissions from the freight system is simply not sustainable. Rising fuel prices and road congestion further increase the need for shippers to act and improve freight efficiency.

Shippers are in a position to help lead us to a more sustainable freight future. By adopting the strategies in this report, companies can begin this journey while significantly slowing the growth in freight emissions today.

Lower freight costs, less exposure to volatile fuel prices and a leadership position on sustainability? That sounds like Smart Moves.

Smart Moves: Creative Supply Chain Strategies Are Cutting Transport Costs and Emissions

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