Market barriers to increased efficiency in the European on-road freight sector

There are several technical and operational measures available to improve the fuel efficiency of truck fleets, but many of these measures are currently not universally implemented. Even cost-effective measures (i.e., measures which can be implemented with net fuel savings that outweigh the initial technology costs and potentially at a net profit) are often not adopted. The main barrier is the lack of information on the fuel savings of individual technical measures for trucks and especially on trailers. While many transport companies and all original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), are aware that certain technologies exist, few respondents believed that these technologies are cost-effective. As a result of this belief, the supply of fuel-saving technologies from OEMs is limited. This report aims to better understand the reasons for the limited adoption of cost-effective fuel-saving technologies and to inform the policy-making process in the European Union and abroad, and specifically to provide input to the European Commissionrs strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from heavy duty vehicles (HDVs). The primary goal of the study is to identify the barriers to the implementation of technologies that improve fuel efficiency in the European road freight transport sector. For this report, the existence and importance of barriers were analyzed through surveys and interviews of transport companies, OEMs, shippers, and logistics service providers.