Abstract
Freight transportation in Brazil is highly dependent on highways. Roads account for about 60% of the total charge moved in Brazil, while ln other countries of continental size, such participation is less than 30%. The high average age of the heavy-duty feet and the inefficient infrastructure of road transportation (such as the low-density and the poor quality of highways) weaken the sustainability of road transportation. As results, the productivity of freight transportation in Brazil is low, while the fossil fuel consumption and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are relatively high. In fact the statistics indicate that the transportation sector is responsible for about 35% of consumption of petrol products and over 40% of GHG emissions in Brazil. On the social side, the number of accidents involving trucks in Brazil is extremely high (approximately 66.000 per year). The low productivity of the national transport also raises freight costs and negatively affects the competitiveness of Brazilian products, especially the agricultural ones. There is an increasing awareness that green supply chains can be also competitive, either because of the awareness that the environment helps productivity or simply because consumers desire it, particularly in wealthy countries. In this way, it is essential 10 establish policies that promote an environmentally friendly logistics, through incentives to increase productivity and reduce GHG emissions in transport. Such policies may involve actions of medium and long-term, but should be directed to increase the transportation system efficiency as a whole, generating lower environmental impacts as much as possible. Ultimately, such policies should encourage the development of transportation corridors that are aligned to the concept of green logistics, reducing emissions and promoting the competitiveness of Brazilian agro-logistics. (AU)
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