Improvements in Movement of Empty Containers: The Case of the Port of Gothenburg

Abstract

Capacity increase only at seaport facilities without improvements in seaports’ inland access is not enough for the entire container transport chain to function properly. With constantly growing container transports, efficiency of rail and flexibility of road are increasingly needed for inland access to/from the seaports, however not always sufficient. Therefore the purpose of this study is to compare movement of empty containers by barge and long and heavy vehicles (LHV) to the reference situation done by regular trucks, on the case of port of Gothenburg and one of its nearby depots; with regard to economy, environment, flexibility and time efficiency. Currently the transportation of containers between the container terminal in the port of Gothenburg and the container depot located 6,5 km at Risholmen is carried out by trucks of a maximum capacity of three TEUs. The data for the study were collected through interviews, observation and literature review. The literature in general claims that barge is a very cost efficient and low polluting mode of transportation but in which circumstances? The findings of the study are focusing on how the studied modes are performing with respect to suggested criteria and show LHV to be the most suitable mode of transport for given route. Not only that the proper choice of the mode has an economic effect, but it also has an environmental impact due to reduced fuel consumption resulting in lower emissions.