Green Transport Partnership
A Glance at Clean Freight Strategies:
Improved Freight Logistics
Reducing
empty mileage
by one
percentage
point can save
188 gallons of
fuel and
eliminate
nearly two
metric tonnes
of greenhouse
gas emissions.
What is the challenge?
Inefficiencies in freight operations can cause trucks to travel empty and idle
unnecessarily. These inefficiencies lead to higher fuel consumption and emissions and
to higher costs for trucking companies.
When motor carriers cannot arrange for a return shipment, drivers may be forced to
pull empty trailers. It is not uncommon to find that empty driving accounts for 20
percent of all mileage for long-distance trucks. A typical long-haul truck drives over
14,000 empty miles each year, consuming 2,400 gallons of diesel in the process and
emitting over 24 tonnes of C02, the primary greenhouse gas. Inefficient truck loading
and unloading practices also contribute to excessive fuel use and emissions by
causing drivers to idle for long periods.
What is the solution?
Improved freight logistics can minimize these inefficient practices, saving fuel and
increasing profits for trucking companies. Improved logistics include load matching,
more efficient routing and scheduling of vehicles, and improved receiving policies.
Options for Load Matching
Load matching services can help trucking companies reduce empty travel by
identifying additional loads that can fill empty backhauls. Motor carriers have been
using load matching services to reduce empty mileage for a number of years. Some
try to reduce empty mileage simply through more competitive pricing for return trips,
or by arranging for loads in a triangular pattern. Others rely on trucking brokers, who
may use the telephone to match empty carriers with shippers. The 1980s saw
growing use of electronic billboards at truck stops to present loads telephoned in by
shippers. This system allows truckers in each region to become aware of available
loads in their area. This type of service has grown substantially and now brings real-
time freight-matching information via satellite to monitors (called load boards) at truck
stops nationwide.
More sophisticated load matching services have become available in recent years.
The use of electronic data interchange (EDI) can reduce transaction costs in the truck-
freight market and facilitate better load matching. Use of the Internet, with its
potential for widespread, real-time information exchange, may allow even more
efficient load matching. Many Internet sites offer load matching, although only a small
fraction of all freight shipments in the US currently originate online.
Options for Routing and Scheduling Software
Trucking companies can make use of routing and scheduling software to structure
more efficient truck routes. Several firms sell software based on optimization models
that allow trucking companies to achieve better routing solutions than those that can
Office of Transportation and Air Quality • Mailcode? • October 2002 • EPA 420-F-02-028
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be obtained through manual dispatcher calculations. Routing and scheduling software
packages allow routes to be constructed taking into account numerous variables,
including the driver hours-of-service rules, pick-up and delivery windows, vehicle size
constraints, vehicle-product compatibility, vehicle-loading dock compatibility, vehicle
route restrictions, empty mileage, and many other factors.
Software companies offer an array of solutions for firms of different sizes. Fleets with
200 or more vehicles typically find that they can benefit from the use of the most
sophisticated computerized routing and scheduling software. Smaller fleets can use
less costly software products to manage their routing and scheduling operations.
Options for Flexible Loading and
Receiving Schedules
Changes to loading dock and receiving policies can contribute to fuel efficiency and
cost reduction. Because on-time delivery is so important to shippers, many trucking
firms build extra time into drivers' schedules to account for unanticipated delay (due
to heavy congestion, accidents, bad weather, etc.). However, when these delays do not
occur, drivers arrive at a destination with time to spare, and may have to idle for an
hour or more waiting for a turn at the loading dock.
More flexible loading dock policies allow for early arrivals. In some cases, loading and
delivery can be expanded beyond the normal business day, allowing trucks to travel at
off-peak times and avoid congestion. With more schedule flexibility, trucking
companies can more productively utilize their vehicle fleets, reducing unnecessary
waiting and idling, and facilitating efficient vehicle scheduling that may also eliminate
empty mileage.
The results are in.
Load matching, improved routing and scheduling, and flexible loading and receiving
policies enhance the efficiency of trucking operations, allowing firms to carry the
same amount of freight with fewer vehicle miles of travel. Not only does this help
profitability, it reduces fuel use and emissions. For a long-haul carrier that operates 15
percent of miles without a load, reducing empty mileage byjust one percentage point
will save 188 gallons of fuel and eliminate nearly two metric tonnes of greenhouse
gas emissions per truck each year. Reducing truck idling can also have significant
benefits. Reducing truck idling by five percent could save 90 gallons of fuel and nearly
one metric tonne of GHG emissions for a typical truck.
Next steps
Trucking firms should take advantage of the extensive options for improved load
matching, routing and scheduling software, and modified shipping and receiving
policies. Many firms have found these to be effective strategies to reduce fuel costs
and improve operations. The American Trucking Associations maintains a directory of
load matching sites at www.trucking.org/cc/councils/itlc/lookandload.html.
Additional guidance is available from trucking brokers and logistics providers who
specialize in matching freight with available carriers. Information is also available from
professional organizations such as the Council of Logistics Management.
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