Estimating the CO2 intensity of intermodal freight transportation

This paper looks at the environmental effects of shifting from road to rail freight transportation. Little data is available to shippers to calculate the potential CO₂ savings of an intermodal shift. In this paper we analyze a data set of more than 400,000 intermodal shipments to calculate the CO₂ intensity of intermodal transportation as a distinct mode. Our results indicate an average intensity of 67 g of CO₂ per ton-mile, but can vary between 29 and 220 g of CO₂ per ton-mile depending on the specific origin–destination lane. We apply the market area concept to explain the variance between individual lane intensities and demonstrate the complexity in predicting the potential carbon savings in a switch from truckload to intermodal.