A switch away from road haulage towards carrying more freight by water and rail could cut road transport carbon emissions by 12 per cent in the UK and ease congestion, says a new report.

This could be achieved in 10 years, but only if the political will to reform the planning regime, investment in ports, and business change among logistics and freight companies are coordinated, the report warns.

A Vision of UK Freight Trends Toward 2018 and Beyond was produced by Sea & Water, a not-for profit body promoting sustainable modes of freight transport in the UK, and commissioned by insurance firm Royal & SunAlliance. It aims to promote multi-mode freight transport in the UK.

“Currently road accounts for 64 per cent of freight tonne-kilometres,” said Francis Power, director of Sea & Water. “This could be reduced to 50 per cent by 2018 if the planning regulations are in place, the logistics industry is not resistant to change and there is appropriate investment in equipment and people. We need to have an infrastructure capable of supporting co-modality with road, rail and port networks all connected to each other.”

As well as reducing carbon emissions, a reduction in road haulage would ease congestion. According to motoring organisation the RAC, one in nine journeys in the UK is blighted by congestion.

The report shows how goods arriving in Britain via major sea ports could be distributed further by coastal sea transport and rivers as wells as rail. Currently, the majority is transported from major ports by road.

Several examples, from large retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s, show how companies have already taken the first steps to freight co-modality and have found it to be more cost-effective and efficient and lowered the carbon footprint of goods shipped in this way.

However, the report points out, investment in Britain’s infrastructure has been heavily biased toward roads in the last 50 years.

Hence Sea & Water is calling for a number of strategic inland ports to be developed and suggests that Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) play an important role in identifying these sites. Additionally, although the UK is not in a position to make an overnight logistical switch, more than 50 smaller ports around the UK could already take feeder freight services from major ports.

“[As a freight insurer], Royal & SunAlliance truly understands the business and appreciates that a lack of investment in rail and shipping infrastructure is significantly hindering this market,” said Barry McConway, director of Marine at R&SA. “We commissioned the report… to demonstrate just how much of a problem this is and the steps that need to be taken to create an effective inter-modal system."