Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Heavy-Duty Trucking in a Non-Containerized Port through Simulation-Based Methods

Seaports are perceived as multimodal hubs of the logistics supply chain where various transport modes intersect to exchange goods shipped by vessels. Increasing trade and capacity constraints are making this area a major contributor to GHG emissions. National and regional decision-makers perceive port sustainability as a concern while planning GHG mitigation projects. However, to plan and conduct successful GHG management programs, it is critical to first develop an appropriate assessment approach that fits well with the operating and geographical context of the given port. For heavy-duty trucking activities taking place within such ports, several models and methodologies for assessing GHG emissions are available, but their generalization is challenging for many reasons, notably because of the specific features of traffic within the port. Therefore, this paper presents an assessment model for heavy-duty trucking emissions within a non-containerized port based on an in-depth study of the traffic per port zone and on parameters drawn from several real data sources. The GHG model based on road traffic profiles by zone is implemented in a simulation model for emission evaluation and prediction. The output shows the pattern of GHG emissions by zone and provides an outlook on how decision-makers could achieve a GHG reduction plan.