There are multiple ways of removing trucks from the road or reducing greenhouse gas emissions: mode conversion, and more efficiently designing orders to fill the truck more completely, thus requiring fewer trucks.

Alternate Fuels

Diesel-powered trucks typically emit about 22 pounds of carbon dioxide per gallon of diesel burned, but this figure can vary depending on the specific characteristics of the engine and the driving conditions. Gasoline-powered trucks emit slightly less carbon dioxide per gallon than diesel trucks, but nobody is talking about converting to gasoline as an alternative.

Trucks powered by alternative fuels such as natural gas, electricity, or hydrogen may emit less CO2 or even be carbon-neutral, depending on the fuel source. For example, electric trucks produce zero tailpipe emissions, but the overall carbon footprint depends on the energy source used to generate the electricity. With large batteries consuming a significant amount of payload, battery-powered trucks are best used for light-weight products. Frito Lay, for example, is effectively using these vehicles to transport low-density snacks.  

Hydrogen, compressed natural gas (CNG), or liquified natural gas (LNG) have a lighter carbon footprint. Still, the scarcity of supply and concerns from some drivers that "they don't pull as well" means widespread adoption is very slow.

Alternate Modes

Removing trucks from the road can help cut carbon emissions because shifting to greener transportation modes like trains — both box car and intermodal — barges or ships is less carbon-intensive. Even better, some ships are powered by cleaner fuels or electricity, although this is not common in the U.S. These alternative modes often have lower emissions per unit of freight transported.

The Easy, Low-Cost Method is to Write Better Orders

Ninety-one percent of all trucks on the road are underloaded. Underloading is when trucks carry less than their maximum capacity, wasting space, fuel, and resources. This inefficiency contributes to increased transportation costs, higher emissions per unit of freight transported, and unnecessary wear and tear on vehicles.

Reasons for trucks being underloaded range from:

• tribal knowledge causing truck capacities to be understated

• the fear of incurring over-weight fines

• the lack of loader ability to operationalize loading – e.g. they can't make the load fit legally

• designing loads with lots of "safety" to accommodate the loader's skills or lack thereof

• Not understanding the truck capacity on the vehicle to be used, so using the lowest common denominator of vehicle capacity

But, by far the biggest issue is most systems’ inability to build axle-legally stable, damage-free loads that use all the capacity

Order optimization software (also known as load optimization) addresses this issue by better designing shipments to maximize the use of available capacity, optimizing loading plans, and maximizing vehicle utilization. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, there are cash savings. 

Optimized load planning builds legally compliant loads, increasing the cargo volume to the maximum possible while considering the product’s weight, stability, sequential loading, and demands for the products’ handling, such as stacking restrictions and transportation rules that govern axle weights in some countries. 

The software collects relevant data, including information about products to be shipped, available vehicles, and any specific constraints or regulations. Load building software can integrate with any ERP or WMS system. 

Load planning software can appoint pallets to trucks with strict packing constraints concerning axle weight, stability, and sequential loading, among other restrictions. This results in the largest possible damage-free load. This software also works with customer orders, creating the correct grouping to meet the customer need date, maximize the payload, or break large orders into optimized trucks.

The best load planning software generates 3D diagrams that visualize the load and locate items. This software can also create optimization plans and provide instructions in 2D and 3D that warehouse workers may fully execute because the plans consider all possible elements, including minor details like pallets with overhangs. It may also generate reports and analytics to track key performance indicators such as fuel efficiency, vehicle utilization, and on-time deliveries.

Load optimization software streamlines the transportation planning process, enhances operational efficiency, reduces costs, and minimizes environmental impact by maximizing resource use and minimizing unnecessary transportation movements.