Almost Half Of Sweden’s Container Trucks Are Driving Empty, Raising Questions About Freight Efficiency
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By PAGE Editor
The global freight industry has a transportation problem that extends beyond fuel prices and delivery schedules. Nearly half of Sweden’s container trucks are traveling without cargo, highlighting an overlooked inefficiency in supply chains that carries economic and environmental consequences.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have found that between 44% and 46% of all truck transports carrying containers from 2016 to 2019 were completed without a load. Collectively, these empty journeys accounted for approximately one-third of the total mileage traveled by freight traffic, revealing an opportunity to rethink how goods move between ports, terminals and distribution networks.
The findings arrive against a broader environmental backdrop. In 2019, the global transportation sector accounted for approximately 15% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, with road traffic representing its largest source. As freight transportation remains essential to international commerce, improving its efficiency has become an increasingly important part of reducing the industry's environmental footprint.
" A large part of the container transports do not carry any goods, but still take up road capacity and require fuel, infrastructure and working hours. This means costs and emissions that we want to avoid," says Violeta Roso, Associate Professor at Chalmers University of Technology.
Geography Plays A Greater Role Than Industry
The research offers a closer look at why empty container movements occur and where improvements could make the greatest difference. Using statistical models, the team examined Swedish freight data and identified geographical location as a more significant factor in predicting empty journeys than the industry transporting the containers.
Approximately 77% of empty transports took place within the same region. Researchers also identified patterns across Blekinge, Västra Götaland, Skåne and Kalmar, where major ports receive more imports than they generate in exports. Consequently, trucks arriving in these regions were more likely to end their journeys without cargo, while departures were less likely to be empty.
Interestingly, empty container journeys were generally shorter than those carrying goods, suggesting that operators are already attempting to minimize unnecessary travel distances.
According to Iván Sánchez-Díaz, Associate Professor at Chalmers, these findings provide a clearer understanding of how transportation networks operate and where inefficiencies emerge.
Better Coordination Could Change The Equation
Rather than treating empty container transportation as an unavoidable cost of doing business, the researchers believe improved coordination and information sharing could help reduce unnecessary movements.
Their recommendations include more strategic return-load planning among hauliers, greater transparency from shipping companies regarding available containers, and closer collaboration between freight owners and forwarders to match export shipments with containers already in circulation. Ports and terminals could also improve storage, consolidation and repositioning practices.
However, matching containers with return cargo is not always straightforward. Timing, location, container dimensions, equipment requirements, ownership arrangements and contractual restrictions can all complicate the process. The challenge is therefore as much organizational as it is logistical.
The research, published in the Transportation Journal under the title Containerized Truck Movements in Sweden Payload and Empty Trip Modeling in Sweden: Payload and Empty Trip Modeling, introduces calculation models that can help identify where interventions are most effective.
Although the findings focus on Swedish transportation data, the methodology could be applied internationally to better understand empty container movements across freight networks.
For an industry built around moving goods efficiently, the next opportunity may not simply be transporting more cargo, but making better use of the infrastructure and containers already in circulation. Reducing unnecessary journeys could deliver a meaningful combination of lower operating costs, improved road capacity and fewer emissions.
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