Energy and freight movements

Journal Article · · Transport. J.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7335944

French, A

It has been suggested that freight be shifted from truck to rail or barge because the national average ton-miles per gallon or ton-miles per Btu are higher for the nonhighway modes. There is also considerable concern that up to half the travel by some trucks, rail cars, and barges takes place with the vehicle empty. Consideration of typical situations and conditions of operation reveal that alternatives to apparently inefficient situations may actually require additional petroleum to accomplish a given transportation task. Highway transportation at 18.4 percent of all energy accounts for 40.4 percent of petroleum consumption. Trucks, with 5.4 percent of the total, account for 21.6 percent of transportation energy and 29.4 percent of highway petroleum. A 10-percent saving here would about equal the potential saving from the 55 mph speed limit. Four examples for intercity operation and two examples more typical of urban operation are described. (MCW)

• Research Organization: Dept. of Transportation, Washington, DC
• OSTI ID: 7335944
• Journal Information: Transport. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Transport. J.; (United States) Vol. 16:1; ISSN TRNJA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
291000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Conservation
298000* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Consumption & Utilization
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320200 -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Transportation
COMMODITIES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
FUEL CONSUMPTION
MATERIALS
PLANNING
RAIL TRANSPORT
ROADS
SHIPS
TRANSPORT
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
TRUCKS
URBAN AREAS
VEHICLES