Wheels within wheels: Freight transport in South Africa.

The increase in the number of freight vehicles on South Africa’s rural road network has received substantial attention. Insinuations persist that long-distance road freight haulage is of a somewhat unsavoury economic nature, and that strict economic re-regulation of the land freight transport is necessary. During the 1970s road transport replaced rail carriage as the dominant form of long-distance freight transport (excluding minerals and ore) in South Africa. On long hauls road freight carriers transport certain primary products of an organic nature (such as timber, fish and agricultural produce), some semi-finished goods, many finished goods and most consumer goods. Road freight carriers are continuously gaining market share on long-distance links where rail transport is the more cost efficient mode. The greater value added by road freight carriers in comparison with rail transport through service effectiveness is often more than the cost premium paid for utilising their service rather than making use of rail transport. Throughout history, governments have involved themselves in transport. A diverse range of arguments have been advanced for this involvement in transport, including the following:Control of excessive competition, co-ordination of transport, integration of transport with economic policy, maintenance of safety, security, and order, provision of costly infrastructure, provision of public goods, recovery of the true resource cost of transport inputs, regulation of harmful conduct and externalities, restraint of monopoly power, and social support. A set of nine instruments can be identified that governments apply to influence the performance of the freight transport industry: Legislation, direct supply, fiscal measures, monetary measures, moral appeal and persuasion, policies relating to strategic commodities, procurement policy, provision of information, and research and development. The best prospects for a sound development of land freight transport activity in South Africa will be offered within the framework of a free-functioning freight transport market.

The expansion of the global supply chain has introduced a multitude of challenges, particularly in road freight transportation. These include extended lead times, high operational expenses, and limited end-to-end visibility. Modern technology must be included in the freight industry to streamline operations and maintain competitiveness. The freight transportation industry is poised for a shift driven by the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things delivers real-time tracking, predictive maintenance, and enhanced security which ushers in a new era for the road transportation industry. Adopting the internet of things will guarantee long-term competitive advantage and future success in a road freight sector. A skills gap remains an obstacle to the successful implementation of the Internet of Things. There has been limited research conducted on the effect of the Internet of Things in the Oman road freight industry. The goal of this study was to document the implementation of Internet of Things and its effect on operational effectiveness through perceived useful in Oman road freight industry. This study used a positivist research philosophy associated with quantitative research. Data was gathered from the five biggest companies in the road freight industry in Oman. A pilot test was conducted to assess the reliability of the research instrument used. A convenience sampling technique was administered to collect data from respondents. A total of 203 structured questions were distributed on-line to workers in road freight sector in Oman. A structural equation modelling was used to analyze the quantitative data in the study. Results show that the adoption of IoT in the road freight sector is a continuous trend. Further findings show that the relationship between IoT and operational effectiveness is partially mediated by perceived usefulness. Improved operational effectiveness is the primary impact of IoT on the road freight sector. Managers are informed that smart sensor technologies can be used with the IoT to allow asset visibility and save operational costs. Future research may explore the financial gains attained through the utilization of IoT within Oman road freight industry.

The choice of transportation mode for freight transport has a profound effect on logistics companies, infrastructure providers and society as a whole. The efficiency of freight transport is important because it has a profound effect on several economic and environmental factors. The paper analyses the costs difference between railroad and road freight transport. The stakeholder analysis is used to enable the identification of the interests of various groups. The government is identified as the focal stakeholder. The governmental decision support model that focuses on the Slovenian case of road and railway freight transport is proposed. The proposed model can serve the government with its decision-making process when adopting policies that concern road and railroad transport such as subsidies or increased road tolls in order to promote railroad transport.

Background: Evolution in global supply chain has created numerous complexities especially in the transportation of freight. Some of the complexities include ever increasing operational cost, long lead-times, limited end-to-end visibility and raw material supply disruptions because of adverse weather conditions. To improve processes and keep abreast of competition, it is vital for businesses to leverage their operations on current technologies. Internet of things (IoT) technology is one of the innovative technologies that can bring about radical transformations to freight transportation. Despite the promising capabilities of IoT, research on its application and effect on road freight sector in developing economies is scanty. Objectives: The purpose of this article is to establish the likely effect of IoT on the road freight sector. This article identifies IoT technologies used in road freight and establishes the relationship between the drivers and benefits of implementing IoT technologies. Method: Structured questionnaires were sent to employees working within the road freight industry within South Africa. The data were subjected to factor analysis for dimension reduction. Regression analysis helped to establish the relationship between drivers and benefits of IoT. Results: The benefits of IoT were operational effectiveness and improved decision making. The drivers of implementing IoT were identified as asset visibility and the need for real-time information sharing. The main effect of IoT on road freight sector is increased asset visibility. The challenges impeding implementation of IoT include high cost of installation, skills gap, fear of hacking and cyberattacks. Conclusion: Road freight transport managers are advised that IoT can be a strategic tool that uses smart sensor technologies that provide visibility of assets to reduce operational costs and improve decision making. The article contributes to logistics management literature by enumerating the IoT technologies used in the road freight sector in South Africa. It also highlights that IoT provides end-to-end visibility resulting in improved decision-making for optimal operations.

The manuscript discusses the current development trends related to electric vehicles and very concept of electromobility in the context of road passenger as well as road freight transport. The introductory section of the manuscript presents the most relevant information and characteristics associated with electromobility, such as breakdown of types of electric vehicles, basic competences of the electromobility system actors, potential options for its application in the field of transport, and the most significant advantages and disadvantages of such vehicles. The second chapter elaborates a brief overview of existing literature sources, such as research studies, electronic scientific papers, conference papers and other publications, regarding the concept of electromobility in terms of road passenger and freight transport. The third and fourth chapter, as the most important manuscript part, describes and processes the data in relation to prediction of electromobility development in both investigated modes of transport, as well as partial results in regard to electromobility and relevant discussion.

A Freight Modal Shift Model for Slovakia

Purpose: To develop and apply a methodology to calculate the heavy goods vehicle fleet required to meet South Africa’s projected road freight transport demand within the context of total surface freight transport demand.Methodology: Total freight flows are projected through the gravity modelling of a geographically disaggregated input–output model. Three modal shift scenarios, defined over a 15-year forecast period, combined with road efficiency improvements, inform the heavy goods vehicle fleet for different vehicle types to serve the estimated future road freight transport demand.Findings: The largest portion of South Africa’s high and growing transport demand will remain on long-distance road corridors. The impact can be moderated through the concurrent introduction of domestic intermodal solutions, performance-based standards in road freight transport and improved vehicle utilisation. This presupposes the prioritisation of collaborative initiatives between government, freight owners and logistics service providers.Research limitations: (1) The impact of short-distance urban movements on fleet numbers is not included yet. (2) Seasonality, which negatively influences bi-directional flows, is not taken into account owing to the annual nature of the macroeconomic data. (3) The methodology can be applied to other countries; the input data are however country-specific and findings can therefore not be generalised. (4) The future possibility of a reduction in absolute transport demand through, for example, reshoring have not been modelled yet.Practical implications: Provides impetus for the implementation of domestic intermodal solutions and road freight performance-based standards to mitigate the impact of growing freight transport demand.Societal implications: More efficient freight transport solutions will reduce national logistics costs and freight-related externalities.Originality: Develops a methodology for forecasting the heavy goods vehicle fleet within the context of total freight transport to inform government policy and industry actions.

Decomposing the decoupling of Danish road freight traffic growth and economic growth

The goal of this study is to quantify and analyse the costs of road-intermodal freight transportation in Pakistan. For the design of the problem, a performance model is utilised, which provides calculations of the costs incurred in road and intermodal freight transports. Our research shows a big cost difference between road and road-rail freight transport. The results show that the cost of road freight transport is 1.48 million Pkr/day and the cost of intermodal freight transport is 1.26 million Pkr/day for the delivery of 220 tonnes of cargo to the consumers. The quantitative analysis of real-life data from one of Asia's leading paper and board businesses used in this study demonstrates operational benefits of more than 60% cost reductions when switching from road to intermodal freight (road-rail) transport. Sensitivity analysis is also presented to assist decision-makers in selecting the most efficient and cost-effective mode of transportation.

Carbon emissions growth and road freight: Analysis of the influencing factors in Tunisia

Several considerations are explored in each mode of transportation for the safe, quick, and environmentally friendly movement of goods. To obtain the advantages in all transportation modes, it is critical to develop appropriate models and algorithms. By expanding our understanding of the planning of bi-objective optimization problems, this study contributes to the field of real-time green logistics analysis. The paper provides case studies based on road and road-rail transportation from dry ports to a seaport in Pakistan. Analysis of the cases shapes the economic and environmental planning of transport. Because there is little research on this topic in Pakistan, the innovative aspect is to reduce the cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of road and intermodal freight transportation between dry ports and seaport. A mixed-integer linear programming model is used for the formulation of the bi-objective problem. Pareto front solutions are provided to trade-off the cost and GHG emissions in delivering goods from dry ports to seaport in Pakistan. The study uses real-life data from one of the largest logistics service providers in Pakistan. Results show that intermodal transportation is 82.6% more economical and 78% greener compared with road freight transportation. Further, this study could be extended by including other factors such as noise, air pollution, and traffic accidents.

The relationship between economic growth and transport sector is an important and popular topic for researchers, but it also has several untapped areas. To ensure continuous economic growth, it is necessary to answer how and to what extent economic sectors contribute to sustainability; what factors or sets of factors can determine freight performance in a country or region; and how it affects the global economy. This study aims to test the presence of spatial dependence. In this research, the authors looked for the spatial relationships between economic activity (GDP) and freight transport performance using spatial econometric models. The results showed that the spatial impact of freight transport performance and GDP significantly influence each other. The intensity calculation shows that the Baltic States have a high intensity in road freight transport, followed by the Central European region. Eastern Europe, including Russia and the Baltics, are prominent players in rail freight. Furthermore, the spatial econometric models have highlighted that a country with high GDP has some sort of "suction" effect on neighbouring countries with lower GDP along with the freight performance. This is especially true for rail freight. In the long run, the outlined results may even support strategic decision-makers in managing the economic impacts of both road and rail freight transport at the regional level.

Freight transportation is closely related to economic development. Freight transportation will promote economic development, and economic development will also promote the growth of freight transportation. Therefore, quantitative analysis of the relationship between the two has certain research significance. This article explores the correlation between the two stages and different modes of transportation through coupling analysis, cointegration analysis, and gray correlation analysis based on the data from 1989 to 2018 of freight transportation volume and GDP. The study found that, overall, the growth of freight volume has a certain role in promoting economic growth, and the correlation between different modes of transportation is different. Among them, the correlation between water transportation1 and GDP is the strongest, and civil aviation is the weakest. The correlation between highways and GDP is stronger than that of railways, and railway freight transportation still has certain development potential under the conditions of green transportation and the "promoting railway instead of highway transportation" environment and transportation policies. According to the analysis, it is expected that the growth of freight volume will continue to drive economic growth in the future, but different modes of transportation will lead to different functions. Therefore, while continuing to maintain the development momentum of the freight transportation industry, adjusting a more reasonable transportation structure will be more conducive to China's economic development.

The United States (U.S.) road freight sector has continued to grow over recent decades. Growth in road freight could result in more fuel consumption and hence increased greenhouse gas emissions. Policymakers have attempted to manage the growth of energy usage through improved fuel economy based on technological advances. However, such improvements may not lead to anticipated goals because of the rebound effect, where improvements in energy efficiency trigger more travel and energy consumption that offsets energy savings. Thus, this study aims to determine the potential rebound effect from improved energy efficiency in the U.S. road freight sector. Eight fuel cost models are applied and asymmetric price response is incorporated in estimating the U.S. road freight sector’s rebound effect from 1980 to 2016. In addition, a recently developed data envelopment analysis is applied to determine the annual rebound effect in the road freight sector. The results suggest that, after accounting for the asymmetric price response, the average rebound effect of the U.S. road freight sector ranges from 6.9% to 8.8%, a level considerably less than that found for several industrialized countries and emerging economies. However, a considerable increase in the rebound effect has been seen in more recent years. The findings suggest that overlooking the rebound effect in environmental policies could impede the goal of reducing total energy consumption and accompanying emissions. Policymakers should incorporate the rebound effect from efficiency enhancement in policy development and utilize some potential programs to reduce the adverse influence of rebound effect in related policies.

Impacts of truck platooning on the multimodal freight transport market: An exploratory assessment on a case study in Italy