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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Transportation Energy Futures Series: Freight Transportation Demand: Energy-Efficient Scenarios for a Low-Carbon Future

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1072830· OSTI ID:1072830
Freight transportation demand is projected to grow to 27.5 billion tons in 2040, and to nearly 30.2 billion tons in 2050. This report describes the current and future demand for freight transportation in terms of tons and ton-miles of commodities moved by truck, rail, water, pipeline, and air freight carriers. It outlines the economic, logistics, transportation, and policy and regulatory factors that shape freight demand, the trends and 2050 outlook for these factors, and their anticipated effect on freight demand. After describing federal policy actions that could influence future freight demand, the report then summarizes the capabilities of available analytical models for forecasting freight demand. This is one in a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency effort to pinpoint underexplored strategies for reducing GHGs and petroleum dependence related to transportation.
Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Renewable Energy
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1072830
Report Number(s):
NREL/TP--6A20-55641; DOE/GO-102013-3711
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English