Skip to main content

Excessive packaging causes unnecessary road traffic

Bernhard Simon, chief executive of Dachser, a Germany-headquartered European logistic provider, says he believes that one in five truck journeys would not be necessary if superfluous packaging was avoided. This could reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by up to eight million tons he believes. In 2005 CO2 emissions from road cargo transport in Germany amounted to 36.7 million tons and the Federal Environment Agency has forecast emissions to rise to 44.4 million tons by 2020.
May 17, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Bernhard Simon, chief executive of 5597 Dachser, a Germany-headquartered European logistic provider, says he believes that one in five truck journeys would not be necessary if superfluous packaging was avoided. This could reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by up to eight million tons he believes. In 2005 CO2 emissions from road cargo transport in Germany amounted to 36.7 million tons and the 5598 Federal Environment Agency has forecast emissions to rise to 44.4 million tons by 2020.

Julia Wolf, logistics professor at the European Business School in Wiesbaden, argues that transport costs are too low. She says that transport costs account for 15 per cent of the price of a product on average, and 20 per cent of the transport costs depends on the road carrier's utilisation rate. The more links a distribution chain consist of, the greater is the likelihood of excessive packaging.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Belfast and Bristol ‘most congested cities in UK’
    April 5, 2013
    According to the 2012 Congestion Index from satellite navigation specialists TomTom, motorists in Bristol and Belfast now face the slowest moving traffic in Britain. Even London’s infamous rush hour is less congested than peak-time jams in cities like Manchester and Nottingham, the annual global traffic figures found. The index shows that the average journey for drivers in Belfast takes 32.1 per cent longer than it would do if traffic moved freely, while in Bristol, journeys take 31 per cent longer. Londo
  • A new way to manage parking demand
    July 21, 2021
    Parking permit changes at one US campus could provide a model for encouraging active travel options post-Covid – and for transit ticketing adjustments as commuting patterns change
  • WiM avoids bumps in the road
    May 5, 2020
    Road surfaces are deteriorating as years of budget squeezes bite among local authorities. Adam Hill asks leading Weigh in Motion players what effect this might be having on the accuracy of their technology – and how authorities can be made to see that WiM is a helpful tool
  • Global ITS market is predicted to more than double by 2020
    November 6, 2015
    A new report from P and S Market Research indicates that the global intelligent transportation systems (ITS) market is expected to increase from US$18,210.2 million in 2014 and reach $38,013.2 million in 2020, with a CAGR of 13.1 per cent during 2015-2020. The global market is mainly driven by increasing traffic congestion. As the traffic congestion is increasing, people are facing more problems. Traffic congestion wastes time of passengers and leads to delay in reaching the workplace. The most effective