An old motorcycle with a loaded trolley.

Decarbonizing Logistics in Lower Income Countries (Part 2)

by Prof. Alan C. McKinnon
An old motorcycle with a loaded trolley.
An old motorcycle with a loaded trolley.

Most of the research on the decarbonization of logistics relates to the developed world. Forecasts suggest, however, that over the next few decades freight traffic and its related carbon emissions will grow much more rapidly in lower income, non-OECD countries. We need therefore to look more closely at their decarbonization challenges and possible lessons they can learn from more developed countries. I do this in a report for the World Bank, focusing mainly on non-urban freight movements within low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Please make sure to read part I first.

3. Optimising the utilization of freight carrying capacity

The aim here is to maximize the loading of vehicles within legal limits and to curb the overloading of vehicles, a practice that is much more widespread in LMICs than in more developed countries and carries a significant carbon penalty. Available evidence suggests that the percentage of truck-kms run empty is also higher in LMICs, though a lack of macro-level utilization statistics makes such international comparisons difficult. Eleven causes of vehicle under-utilization are identified and their relevance to LMICs assessed. The reasons for the over-loading problem are also analysed. A combination of processes and policies, including digitalization, supply chain collaboration, relaxation of truck size and weight limits and tougher enforcement of over-loading regulation, are strongly advocated as means of making vehicle loading more carbon-efficient.

4. Improving the energy efficiency of freight vehicles

Available evidence suggests that energy consumption per truck-km and per tonne-km is much higher in LMICs than in North America and Europe. This is attributable mainly to fleets being older and less well-maintained, poorer road infrastructure, under-skilling of drivers, diesel fuel subsidies and under-capitalisation of the freight sector. According to the International Energy Agency, 70% of new truck sales in 2022 were in countries with legal fuel-economy / CO2 standards for new vehicles. A large proportion of freight vehicles in LMICs are imported second-hand after being operated in the US, Europe and Japan for 5-6 years or more. This delays the international diffusion of energy-saving technologies. In the meantime, driver training, improved maintenance, retrofitting of existing vehicles with fuel-saving devices and re-scheduling deliveries to off-peak periods, among other things, can substantially cut energy use and emissions.

5. Switching logistics from fossil fuel to renewable energy

In the short-to-medium term, the energy transition for trucks will be to biofuels, though the supply of environmentally sustainable varieties of these fuels is very limited in most LMICs. In the longer term, truck fleets worldwide will be decarbonised mainly by batteries recharged with low carbon electricity. This transition is likely to take much longer in LMICs because of the initial concentration of e-truck sales in the Global North, LMIC’s heavy reliance on imports of used trucks, the under-capitalisation of their haulage businesses and the slower development of their charging infrastructure. The decarbonisation of grid electricity in many of these countries will also be slower, though those in the tropics have good potential to ‘micro-generate’ renewable electricity using solar panels on the roofs of warehouses to charge batteries and power intra-logistics operations.

More information:

Alan C. McKinnon

Alan C. McKinnon is Professor of Logistics and Honorary Senator at KLU. He has been part of the KLU faculty since 2012 and has been lecturing, researching and advising on logistics since 1979. Over the span of over foru decades he has undertaken research on a broad spectrum of logistics topics. A long term interest in the environmental impact of logistics has culminated in recent years in research on the opportunities for decarbonizing logistics and need to adapt logistics systems to climate change.

Connect with Alan McKinnon on LinkedIn or learn more here.

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