Wincanton claims eco-friendly trailer unit could reduce carbon emissions by 10%
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The logistics giant Wincanton says that as part of its drive to reduce carbon emissions from its fleet, it has designed a semi-trailer that provides additional space for at least four extra pallets per load. The design would lead to an estimated 10 per cent reduction in road miles where adopted, and hence lower carbon emissions, the company says.
The new design employs a single, remote steerable axle which increases load length by 14 per cent while conforming to the UK government's 44-tonne weight limit. If adopted as an industry standard Wincanton claims it would substantially reduce the number of heavy goods journeys on Britain's roads and cut carbon emissions by at least 10 per cent.
Wincanton has been working closely with DfT consultants on the feasibility of introducing longer trailers onto Britain's roads. From surveys with all Wincanton's vehicle-orientated contracts, some 63 per cent suggested they could utilise a longer road platform without exceeding the 44-tonne GVW limit.
Wincanton's managing director, Gordon Scott, said: "As part of this DfT process we also supplied detailed case studies of eight of our major contracts to emphasise the opportunities for productivity and environmental savings. The customers spanned industries including healthcare, retail, construction, consumer goods and electronics. From just these eight customers we estimate that over 48,000 journeys could potentially benefit from the use of Wincanton's longer trailers, enabling a reduction of over 2.1 million miles and 1.1 million litres of fuel. This equates to an annual saving of 2.9 million kilogrammes of CO2."