Economic and sustainability impacts of urban freight congestion on supply chains

Transportation Congestion & Freight Movement
Research Paper Introduction
With increased traffic volume and jams on urban roads and highways, it is becoming increasingly difficult for freight operators to remain on schedule. This impacts truck-dependent firms and supply chains which are increasingly important for private as well as public sector operators. Investments and policies are required, from a public standpoint, based on a grasp of public infrastructural requirements, wider economic stakes and expenses involved. From carriers’ and shippers’ standpoint, delays have everyday cost implications since they impact supply chain management. Further, a broader need has been determined, for assessing opportunities, returns and risks linked to manufacturing, siting and distribution related decisions. Both standpoints must be taken into account whilst addressing the complete range of economic effects of traffic congestion (Weisbrod & Fitzroy, 2011). Freight Movement Congestion and Related Issues Efficiency of goods delivery proves crucial to client satisfaction, global and urban economic success, and corporate success. But when moving goods to their end destination, distributors experience major challenges across metropolitan and urban environments: bottlenecked airports and seaports, and traffic jams on congested city roads, highways and railway networks. Product distribution has a part to play in this congestion, besides causing increased noise and air pollution. Slow product movement slows down economic progress. In extreme cases where supply chains become stationary within large metropolitan areas, impacts and ripple effects are felt locally as well as globally. Failure to quickly resolve this issue will lead to loss of access to everyday necessities. Crucial hospital supplies may be depleted within a day’s time, gas stations would be out of petroleum in a couple of days, and perishables would go out of stock in groceries within a few days (VREF, 2015).
Roadway utilization for moving freight gives rise to place and time utility, ensuring goods are available to buyers when required, in the required place. As freight transport is considered a low-cost production factor, truck transport has commonly been utilized non-optimally (in terms of freight efficiency); however, if one considers the logistics chain perspective (which includes manufacturing and warehousing approaches), it might be optimal. But road freight movement has clear societal and economic disadvantages. Roads may pose as an obstacle, and transporting freight via roadways can cause congestion. Freight transport decreases available passenger movement capacity. Sustainability impacts constitute the most serious consequences of roadway usage for transporting freight, including individual, corporate and societal economic sustainability; social sustainability (road accidents, gender equity and work conditions); and environmental sustainability for the planet’s survival and that of present and future human beings (Ensgtrom, 2016).
Technological innovation greatly impacts transport system design and usage. Industrial, governmental and academic development constitutes a continuous process. Only a few innovations show the potential to transform freight transport (e.g., alternative fuels, robots or other autonomous handling tools and vehicles for increasing terminal handling efficiency, etc.); the rest are all simply marginal improvements. A mere five percent of trailers feature technology enabling their lifting. Information or digitalization trends may come to impact freight transport (Ensgtrom, 2016). Possible Solutions for Freight Movement Congestion In urban areas, production and long-haul transportation isn’t the issue; rather, the challenge is moving products to local markets. At present, this is handled using various strategies such as off-peak delivery scheduling and bicycle courier usage in congested zones. Further, more high-tech solutions have been developed, including GPS-reliant fleet management system implementation enabling dynamic routing and scheduling and helping drivers circumvent local traffic congestion pockets (Dumbaugh, 2012).
Dedicated truck lane (DTL) usage can help improve freight system efficacy and condition. Researches into DTLs within distinct corridors (within Texas, Los Angeles, Virginia, Georgia, and Chicago) examined potential opportunities from using novel truck control technologies for improving DTL efficiency. Significant cost-savings could be attained in the areas of maintenance and rehabilitation if trucks were required to drive on only those lanes made solely for them. Additional improvements could ensue with the adoption of automated lateral control for ensuring trucks consistently stuck to one path in a given lane. Lastly, electronic truck platooning and longer vehicles could improve highway freight productivity, besides decreasing congestion and increasing safety (Roorda et al., 2010; Samuel et al., 2002).
Supply chains can become faster and more agile with network-wide information sharing. The Retail Link of Walmart provides an e-bridge to suppliers, offering information on inventory levels and sales and facilitating purchase order downloads. Such close integration shows suppliers a picture of actual demand, decreasing congestion impacts across the entire supply chain (Stalk & Paranikas, 2015). Environmental Issues Involving Freight Transport The environment-transport problem is paradoxical, as the latter, despite its immense socioeconomic advantages, also adversely impacts environmental systems. On the one hand, transport activities increase freight and passenger mobility demands, particularly within urban zones; but on the other hand, they have been linked to increased environmental externality levels. Additionally, environmental conditions influence transport systems (e.g., infrastructural needs like maintenance and construction, and operating conditions) (Rodrigue, 2018).
With transport activities increasing congestion and motorization, the transport sector is being connected, to a growing extent, with environmental problems, the key issues being: Climate change. The infamous greenhouse effect – a natural process involving partial heat retention within our earth’s atmosphere – form a key element of worldwide climate regulation. Greenhouse gases (which include methane, halocarbons, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide) accumulate within the atmosphere for a sufficiently long period and attain a homogeneous worldwide composition. Hence, they have a similar concentration everywhere (Rodrigue, 2018). Air quality. Aircrafts, motor vehicles, trains, and marine engines cause air pollution by emitting particulate matter (dust, ash) and gas (mostly lead, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, benzene, silicon tetraflouride, cadmium, copper, chrome, zinc and other heavy metals), thereby damaging people’s health. Lead emission has dropped to a great extent within the past few decades following the 80s ban of lead as a gasoline anti-knock agent by most nations. The key factors contributing to this ban included tetraethyl lead’s neurotoxic impacts on humans and its catalytic converter impairing property (Rodrigue, 2018). Noise. Noise pollution involves the general impact of chaos and irregular sounds on both humans and animals. Transport-linked noise (including that attributed to transport vehicles, airport, rail yard, and port operations) also impacts human health, notably by exacerbating cardiovascular disease risks. Ambient noise – the cumulative result of all vehicular noise (between 45 and 65 decibels) – often ensues from road transport within urban areas, and impairs quality of life of urban residents and property values (Rodrigue, 2018). Water quality. Transportation activities affect water quality and hydrological conditions. Toxic particulates, fuel, and chemicals emitted by automobiles, trains, airplanes, trucks and airport/port terminal operations may lead to hydrographic system contamination (Rodrigue, 2018).