Price increases on multimodal road transport.
To date, road transport has been a very popular mode for freight. Rail transport was cost effective. Shippers who convert long-haul freight from road to rail, could save 10-40%. Rail had lower fuel costs compared to road transport, especially when shipping a high volume of freight. Shipping via train should be more environmentally friendly. Trains burn less fuel per ton mile than trucks. On top of that, using rail transport over road transport can lower greenhouse gas emissions by 75% when electricity is generated carbon friendly.
Further limitations of rail
While rail transport can be a great solution for many shippers, it isn’t for every load. There are some limitations to consider. First, the shipper and the consignee should be no more than 100-200 miles from a major metro area that has a terminal. Either way, last mile delivery needs to be added to get the load to its end destination. Also, there aren’t guaranteed transit times, so it’s not recommended for time-sensitive loads.
Fit for 55
For alle these reasons the EU has created a large role for intermodal transport in the Fit for 55 proposals and the EU Mobility Packages. Aim is to reduce up to 55% (or recently even 57%!) of net greenhouse emissions in 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and for the transport sector up to 90%. To achieve this one of the changes is the promotion of combined transport as written down in the combined transport directive. This encourages a shift to rail transportation where possible with financial benefits involved.
This all will change in 2023!
Price increases on multimodal road transport. For 2023 train companies announced increases of transport fees from 30% up to 60%! This due to increasing costs of energy and wages. On top of this the lack of gas due to the Ukraine crisis, more and more energy plants switch to coal, which completely decreases the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. These measures completely counter the intentions of the EU Council and works counterproductive to reducing gashouse emissions.
Advantages of shipping with Don Trucking
As Don-Trucking is already working on being completely carbon neutral by 2025, teaming up with Don Trucking offers you several advantages to intermodal transport by train.
- Don trucking uses a large percentage of LNG trucks running on bio-LNG. This reduces GHG emissions up to 70%. Especially compared to the coal-based electricity trains will use.
- Don Trucking additionally compensates left-over CO2 emissions in cooperation with Ecobal.
- Additionally, you need less warehouse capacity as transport is door to door.
- Transport will be faster compared to rail transport as you save loading and unloading.
- Furthermore innovations in road transport such as eco-combis will further increase the advantages of road transport as the cost of transport per ton will further decrease.
- As a result, transport with Don trucking is much more cost effective compared to the inflated train cargo prices.
In summary, to offer carbon neutral transport that is faster, cleaner and cost efficient, contact Don-Trucking or mail us directly.