A New Model for Estimating Carbon Emissions from LTL Shipments

In brief Calculating carbon emissions for less than truckload (LTL) is more challenging than for other modes of transportation. Each LTL truck combines a wide mix of freight from many shippers, with varying origin-destination pairs. Without visibility to the details about individual shipments on that truck, accurate carbon emission estimates at the shipment level can be difficult to obtain. Graduate students at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) examined this issue, using actual LTL shipment data from TMC, a division of C.H. Robinson, and a national LTL carrier. The models discussed in this paper were developed from this research. This white paper also includes an easy to use model derived from this research to help companies calculate their own LTL carbon emissions.