A new approach to reducing road freight transport

This article deals with the effects of lean for the interfirm supply traffic. It argues that the generally predicted large increase of freight transport - especially of road freight traffic - is not the result of the new production methods, but is caused by other factors, ie through the Single European Market or the liberalization of the transport sector or the extremely low transport costs. Lean production in the sense of a total rationalization of the entire value chain could actually lead to a decrease of interfirm freight transport, because there is a general tendency to reduce the number of the direct suppliers. But there must also be a clear diminishing of the average transport distances through regional concentration of production and supply relations. However an essential precondition for this would be the drastic increase of transport costs. (A)