Environmental and transport effects of warehouse relocationing: evidence from Norway

Reducing traffic volumes and CO2-emissions from freight transport has proven difficult in many countries. Although the increasing suburbanization of warehouses is seen as a relevant land use trend, comprehensive analyses of their impact remain scarce. This study uses real data in modeling transport, costs, environmental and modal effects from warehouse relocations around Oslo and Trondheim (Norway). Results indicate that for Oslo, traffic performance (ton-km), CO2-emissions, and transport costs increase following warehouse suburbanization. For Trondheim, transport performance and CO2-emissions increase less, while transport costs decrease marginally. We conclude that specific case characteristics (geography and trade patterns) are important in determining the strength and direction of effects, and expect that common concomitant developments (warehouse centralization and consolidation) would lead to more pronounced results. Our findings confirm some, but challenge other, findings from the relatively scarcely literature available. Finally, the study's more general insights and observations can help advance similar analyses beyond Norway.     

Environmental impact assessment of sediment dumping in the southern Baltic Sea using meiofaunal indicators

An experimental sediment dumping was carried out in the southern part of the Mecklenburg Bight in June 2001. Foraminiferans and ostracods from superficial sandy sediment were studied in a time series from before dumping until March 2004 in order to assess changes in associations and recolonization patterns of both groups. Additionally, an area sampling covering the dumping site and its surroundings from 15.5 to 20.7 m water depth made it possible to compare associations inside and outside the dumping area as well as the water depth dependent distribution of foraminiferans and ostracods. Salinity values vary within the high alpha-mesohaline and low polyhaline range. The dominating species are Ammotium cassis (Foraminifera) and Sarsicytheridea bradii (Ostracoda). The diversity is low (Fisher alpha index from 0.4 to 3.2 for foraminiferans and 1.0 to 2.5 for ostracods), but higher within the dumping site samples. These higher values are explainable by input of allochthonous tests and valves representing additional species. After the sediment dumping it took two and a half years to re-establish the total foraminiferan association and the total foraminifer/ostracod ratio within the dumping site. Total foraminiferan abundance increases remarkably with water depth (mean 83 tests in 100 ml) driven by higher nutrient availability and more suitable salinity and temperature values within the zone of the oscillating halocline. The distribution of shallow water species such as Cribroelphidium excavatum, Eucythere argus and Hirschmannia viridis, within the transient water layer A. cassis, Nodulina dentaliniformis, S. bradii and Palmoconcha laevata and below Eggerella scabra indicate the depth position of the halocline. Water depth and sediment dumping influence are the main driving factors for the distribution of foraminifer and ostracod associations within the study area. However, a significant sedimentological difference between samples inside and outside the dumping area is not recognizable.     

Impacts of combining partial and general equilibrium modelling in freight transport analyses – a forest sector case study from Norway

Abstract

The forest sector in Norway is very transport intensive, accounting for approximately 14% of total domestic freight transport traffic on Norwegian roads. This paper presents an analysis linking a general equilibrium freight transport modelling tool with a partial equilibrium model of the forest sector. The freight transport model predicts transport costs, modal split and transport patterns, and the results are treated as inputs to the forest sector model. The objective of the paper is to analyse the modelling effect of taking forest sector model effects back into the freight transport model and treated as new demand. Compared to a base scenario for the year 2020, we compare analyses with and without this new demand from the forest sector model back into the freight transport modelling tool.     

Safety outcomes of internationalization of domestic road haulage: a review of the literature

Abstract

The European Union (EU) promotes gradual lifting of restrictions on foreign hauliers involved in domestic road transport of goods (cabotage), and a major deregulation was scheduled in 2014. Due to complaints from several member states facing competition from new EU-countries with lower labour costs, this process was postponed until 2015. An important aspect related to such a deregulatory reform includes potential consequences for transport safety and accident risk factors. The main aims of the current paper are therefore to examine the potential transport safety outcomes of increasing internationalization of domestic road haulage, and to examine potential accident risk factors of foreign hauliers. This is done by reviewing the research literature. This paper shows that the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) accident risk varies with a factor of up to 10 in European countries, and that the accident risk of foreign HGVs is approximately two times higher than that of domestic HGVs in the studied European countries. The paper points to several risk factors and concludes that better data on accident risk and risk factors must be gathered in order to enable European authorities to correctly analyse and respond to this important traffic safety challenge.     

The safety ladder: developing an evidence-based safety management strategy for small road transport companies

Traffic accidents account for between 20% and 40% of work-related accidents in industrial countries, and research indicates that road transport companies often have little focus on organisational safety management (OSM). There is thus a huge and largely untapped road safety potential in improving the safety of people who drive in their work, by focusing on OSM. Road transport companies in European countries are often small, however, with limited resources in terms of time, financial resources and competence on road safety. The main aim of the present article is therefore to develop an OSM strategy for small road transport companies. Based on a systematic literature review, taking Norwegian research as its point of departure, the article concludes that four measures seem to be most realistic for small goods-transport businesses, and that these measures seem to have the greatest safety potential. These four measures can be arranged on a ladder, where businesses start at the lowest and most basic level, before proceeding to the next step. While our stepwise safety-ladder approach has not been validated, it is expected that further research would confirm the value of the strategy proposed.