Transportation's Role in Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions ...

Transportation’s Role in Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Volume 2
concept is new to the U.S., a total of 67
UCC schemes with evidence of
detailed research or in-place
operations have been identified in
Europe and also in Japan (Woodburn
et al., 2005).
UCCs are likely better suited to some
types of goods and vehicle
movements than others. They are
unlikely to be suited to perishable and
highly time-sensitive products (such
as fresh food) and goods with specific
distribution and handling
requirements. In addition, vehicles that already are carrying full loads for a single
destination will not benefit from a UCC. From the evidence available, UCCs are most
likely to be successful in situations where urban centers are undergoing growth in retail,
suffering from delivery truck traffic congestion or quality of life related impacts, or
conducting major construction projects where a consolidation center could reduce costs
and organize deliveries (Woodburn et al., 2005).
Urban consolidation centers could result in three primary outcomes that could reduce
GHG emissions:
• Reduced road freight traffic levels (i.e., reducing goods vehicle movements in the
urban area through improved consolidation or modal shift);
• Improved efficiency and thus reducing fuel consumption per ton of urban freight
transportation operations (through improved load factors and the need for fewer
deliveries); and
• Greater use of environmentally friendly vehicles.
Magnitude and Timing of Greenhouse Gas Reductions
A 2005 University of Westminster study focused on data from 17 urban consolidation
centers successfully implemented in Europe and Japan. Reductions in urban truck VMT
from these centers ranged from 30 to 45 percent for the shipments served (Woodburn et
al., 2005).
The Moving Cooler study evaluated a hypothetical scenario of developing consolidation
centers on the periphery of large urbanized areas in the U.S. (Moving Cooler, draft in
progress). The focus is on less-than-truckload carriers, which collect freight from various
shippers and consolidate that freight onto enclosed trailers for linehaul shipment to the
delivering terminal or to a hub terminal. These carriers represent 8.6 percent of total
urban truck miles. Using VMT percent reduction estimates from the European examples,
4-50
Urban Consolidation Centers
Benefits: Low: