How sustainable is the transformation in road freight?

The road freight sector is undergoing a transformation driven by automation, digitalization, and electrification. While these trends promise significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and operational costs, they shift environmental hotspots from vehicle operation to the manufacturing phase, particularly regarding battery mineral extraction. Social challenges include potential job insecurity for drivers and the risk of exploitation within digital 'gig economy' platforms.

• Road freight accounts for approximately 5% of global CO2 emissions, with about 90% of a truck's total life cycle greenhouse gas emissions typically originating from the use of fossil fuels for propulsion.
• The transition to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) shifts environmental sustainability hotspots from the operational phase to the manufacturing phase, increasing risks associated with the extraction and processing of battery minerals.
• While electrification reduces air pollution—contributing to a 45% reduction in premature deaths from air pollution in the EU between 1990 and 2019—it may increase air pollution caused by tyre and road wear due to the higher weight of BEVs.
• Digitalization improves fleet management and route optimization, but the rise of 'gig economy' platforms creates risks of worker exploitation and employment agreements that exist in regulatory grey areas.
• Vehicle automation has the potential to improve road safety by reducing human error and could alleviate current driver shortages in the US and EU, though it may eventually disrupt driver employment.
• The convergence of automation, electrification, and digitalization is expected to lower operational costs, which may lead to unintended consequences such as increased road congestion and wear and tear.

APA

Olsson, O., Gong, J., Nykvist, B., & Xylia, M. (2023). How sustainable is the transformation in road freight? Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/sei-brief-road-freight-gong-30-jan-2023.pdf

Chicago

Olsson, Olle, Jindan Gong, Björn Nykvist, and Maria Xylia. How sustainable is the transformation in road freight? Stockholm Environment Institute, 2023. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/sei-brief-road-freight-gong-30-jan-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Olsson |first1=Olle |last2=Gong |first2=Jindan |last3=Nykvist |first3=Björn |last4=Xylia |first4=Maria |title=How sustainable is the transformation in road freight? |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=January 2023 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/sei-brief-road-freight-gong-30-jan-2023.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{olsson2023how, author = {Olsson, Olle and Gong, Jindan and Nykvist, Björn and Xylia, Maria}, title = {{How sustainable is the transformation in road freight?}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/sei-brief-road-freight-gong-30-jan-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }