The Sustainable Freight Program focuses on what technologies, policies and strategies are needed to achieve sustainable trucking, supply chain management and urban freight transportation.
Motivation & Value:
Freight movement is on the cusp of major transformations in the U.S. and worldwide. Yet to achieve very low levels of CO2 as well as pollutant emission reduction goals, complementary solutions will be needed. The Sustainable Freight Program evaluates goods movement patterns, supply chain management strategies, intermodal dynamics, new vehicle technologies, and new fuel options, along with infrastructure requirements, environmental impacts, and policy. Starting from the premise that the freight system is the economy in motion, our research is at the intersection of transportation, supply chain management, technology and policy.
Key Research Questions:
- How can future technologies/fuels be adapted to be more suitable for use by logistics operators (trucking fleets, major retail operators, etc.), and assist them in cost-effectively reducing climate and other environmental impacts?
- How can supply chains be optimized to better accommodate the use of new truck technologies and energy sources (e.g., electricity, hydrogen), particularly in the context of the expected evolution of supply chains, such as omni-channel distribution?