Freight transport in Singapore - Current status and future research

The efficient movement of freight is especially important in Singapore which aspires to become a premier logistics hub for the region. Research on freight transport has received less attention compared to passenger transport. The objective of this paper is to discuss findings from the study of 80 local freight companies and developing a research agenda in road freight transport. The survey investigated a wide range of issues - the characteristics of freight vehicle fleets and their movements, the impact of traffic management measures and information technologies (IT) as well as the critical issues of concern to the local companies. The survey suggests that measures such as Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) and Vehicle Parking Certificate (VPC) do have some impact upon freight operations and congestion remains to be an issue of concern. The results suggest an average distance per trip of 6.8 km for light goods vehicles (LGV), 18.6 km for prime movers and 15.5 km for heavy goods vehicles. The average distances travelled per day ranged from 190 km for LGVs to 230 km for prime movers. These values are higher than national averages for trucks, indicating that freight companies utilize their vehicles more extensively. It is also clear that future freight studies must pay more attention to LGVs if a freight model is to be accurate for demand forecasts. A future research agenda has been prepared as part of the study. It consists of topics such as: advanced methods for freight data collection using GPS to capture truck movements, performance assessment of computerised fleet management technologies, designing of truck routes and incorporation of congestion effect in vehicle routing and scheduling.