Intermodal roundwood transport: Pre-carriage optimization ensuring economic and environmental benefits

Fakultät für Umwelt und Natürliche Ressourcen

Opferkuch M, Becker G, Smaltschinski, Th.

Intermodal roundwood transport: Pre-carriage optimization ensuring economic and environmental benefits, Hrsg: Council on Forest Engineering

Opferkuch M, Becker G, Smaltschinski, Th.: Intermodal roundwood transport: Pre-carriage optimization ensuring economic and environmental benefits 2011 (34th COFE Annual Meeting, Quebec City, Canada, 12-15 June 2011), Council on Forest Engineering (Hrsg). (download: http://www.cirrelt.ca/COFE2011/proceedings/43-opferkuch.pdf)

Konferenzbeiträge

Due to concentration processes in the European wood based industry and larger capacities in the installed units, the procurement radius has increased significantly over the last decade. Average transport distances today are approximately 150 km (one-way) and are likely to in-crease in the future. As a consequence transportation activities account for a substantial part of the total raw material costs at mill gate. Given the relatively dense rail and water way net-work in Central Europe it is claimed that the use of rail or ship for long distance roundwood transport is beneficial regarding both economic and environmental aspects in comparison to truck transport. Nevertheless this can only be realized by intermodal transport solutions as truck transport remains an inevitable component in roundwood transportation due to the remoteness of the constantly changing harvesting sites in the forest from logistic terminals. On the basis of case studies where long distance roundwood transport from the forest to the mill was carried out alternatively with trucks only and with intermodal systems (truck – rail –truck, truck – ship – truck) respectively, the comparison regarding total transport costs as well as energy efficiency and GHG emissions gives a more heterogeneous picture. The inevitable necessity for pre-carriage, detours and often additional onward-carriage risks to outweigh the potential benefits of intermodal transport solutions and requires rigorous observation and minimization of pre-carriage distances independently of the main carrier to ensure these economic and environmental advantages. The results can contribute to optimizing transport solutions and to avoid that opposing effects related to transport put the good ecological reputation of wood at stake.

Professur für Forstliche Verfahrenstechnik
Prof. Dr. Thomas Purfürst
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