1. Transport Efficiency and
Sustainability
No matter whether you are a politician, logistics professional and/or a
consumer one could perhaps learn something from the economists
Arthur Cecil Pigou, Ronald Coase, Elinor Ostrom and BARBED WIRE
that actually is related to transport, transport efficiency and
sustainability. Pigou with his theories of taxation as a means to minimize
externalities. Coase with the teorem that postulates smart solutions by
companies through an example including barbed wire and finally Ostrom
that with her research shows that state and market not always need to
be the only solution.
Niklas Arvidsson 2011-10-26 www.handels.gu.se

2. Content
Background and cooperation
What is transport efficiency?
State
Market
Civil society
Conclusion
Niklas Arvidsson 2011-10-26 www.handels.gu.se

3. Background and cooperation – research project “more
sustainable logistics”
Financed by:
VINNOVA, The Logistics and Transport Society LTS, Volvo Logistics, DB Schenker,
Stora Enso, Västra Götaland Region, City of Göteborg Traffic Division, Chalmers
University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, School of Business,
Economics and Law.
Cooperation in my part of the project
With almost all stakeholders above and also discussions with Volvo Trucks and
Scania in “förstudie transporteffektivitet”.
Personally I am in between two articles in my research, repetitive to talk about my
first article again and too early to talk about the other, thus this “general”
character of this presentation.
Niklas Arvidsson 2011-10-26 www.handels.gu.se

4. Content
Background and cooperation
What is transport efficiency?
State
Market
Civil society
Conclusion
Niklas Arvidsson 2011-10-26 www.handels.gu.se

5. What is transport efficiency?
This is the definition I am working on right now:
“Resource efficiency in movement of goods”
Externalities ≈ (negative) environmental effects
Stakeholders: truck manufacturers, operators, forwarders,
transport buyers and authorities
Who can influence the most? What do stakeholders say?
Niklas Arvidsson www.handels.gu.se

6. Content
Background and cooperation
What is transport efficiency?
State
Market
Civil society
Conclusion
Niklas Arvidsson 2011-10-26 www.handels.gu.se

7. The state as a solution to “resource efficiency in
movement of goods”?
• Pigou
• Tax on externalities to avoid a privatization on profits and
collectivization of environmental costs.
Niklas Arvidsson www.handels.gu.se

8. Content
Background and cooperation
What is transport efficiency?
State
Market
Civil society
Conclusion
Niklas Arvidsson 2011-10-26 www.handels.gu.se

9. The market and its actors as a solution to “resource
efficiency in movement of goods”?
• Coase
Example with farmer, cattle owner and barbed wire
Cap and trade
15-30 % vs. 3-4 %
Niklas Arvidsson www.handels.gu.se

10. Content
Background and cooperation
What is transport efficiency?
State
Market
Civil society
Conclusion
Niklas Arvidsson 2011-10-26 www.handels.gu.se

11. The civil society as a solution to “resource efficiency in
movement of goods”?
• Ostrom
Example from interviews: “Should I answer as a citizen or
professionally?”
Niklas Arvidsson www.handels.gu.se

12. Content
Background and cooperation
What is transport efficiency?
State
Market
Civil society
Conclusion
Niklas Arvidsson 2011-10-26 www.handels.gu.se

13. Conclusion
Pigou – a good way to make companies not overuse barbed wire
(transport) and to put the issue on the agenda.
Coase – companies are good at finding smart solutions but they are not
equally good at implementing measures that are financially uncertain
Ostrom – we all have to take responsibility, the state and the market are
not the only solution, and this we can?
15-30 % vs. 3-4 %
But who will start?
Niklas Arvidsson www.handels.gu.se

14. Conclusion
Actors
Road Transport Transport
Transport efficiency* hauliers providers buyers Society
Driver efficiency + + + +
Vehicle efficiency + + + +
Increase in ITS and route efficiency +/- + + +
complexity Utilization efficiency - Back-haul effect + + + +
and number Utilization efficiency - Load factor - - + +
of actors Packaging efficiency - - + +
Order efficiency - - +/- +
Mode efficiency - +/- +/- +
Regulatory and incentive efficiency +/- +/- +/- +
Coordinated distribution +/- +/- + +
*(-) cost, (+) benefit
Increase in
benefit
Arvidsson, Woxenius & Lammgård (2009) “Options for increasing transport efficiency in urban freight distribution:
Do more with less” , Logistics Research Network Conference, Cardiff, 16-18 Sep 2009, paper presented and
published in proceedings.
Arvidsson, Lammgård, Woxenius www.handels.gu.se

15. Niklas Arvidsson www.handels.gu.se

16. Sammanfattning extra
Jag tror:
När priset ökar på transporter (Pigou), börjar företagen prata transporter
i styrelserummen och hitta smarta lösningar (Coase) och inte bara
pratar kapitalbindning, cash flow eller “just in time” (alla tre
tidsberoende) utan också “just not time” såsom transporteffektivitet
och börjar ställa hårdare krav på sina transportleverantörer.
Tid är pengar, ja, men är tid lika mkt pengar när räntan är noll? Finns det
ett litet tidsfönster för möjlighet här och nu? Cashflow?
Kan vi som användare/genererare (Ostrom) av transportsystemet vänta
en extra dag på vår Iphone?
Niklas Arvidsson www.handels.gu.se

17. Externa relationer 2011-10-26 www.handels.gu.se