76 ton truck weights would cut transport costs by €250M/yearThursday 28 Mar 2013
Proposals to increase the maximum weight of heavy trucks were put forward by the forest sector long ago. The state-owned forestry company Metsähallitus proposed this in 2008, but the Government accepted the idea only last November, after a proposal by the Finnish Forest Industries Federation in 2010. According to the proposal by the ministerial group, the total weight of a truck with nine axles could increase up to 76 tons. With fewer axles, the total weight should be lower. The current maximum weight allowed in Finland and Sweden is 60 tons. The change in maximum weight could be approved for any truck at once after the Government decree is passed, if the technology in the truck is satisfactory. If not, the necessary modifications should be made and approved in connection with the next vehicle inspection. The maximum height of the vehicle would also go up from 4.2 to 4.4 metres, but this change has no large relevance for timber transportation. However, the Government cannot make this decision alone; it has to be approved by the Commission of the European Union. The plan at the moment is that, after approval by the Commission, the Finnish government could pass the final decision in early summer 2013. Further goals are actually even more ambitious. The forest sector plans to submit to the Finnish Transport Safety Agency an application for testing trucks weighing 90 tons on Finnish roads. The application is likely to apply to a total of seven routes in different regions around the country. The plans also include the testing of a special truck, which would carry forest chips in one direction and pick up a load of sawlogs when returning. In Sweden, 90-ton trucks have already been tested and an application to continue the tests has been submitted. Next tests are to start this year and continue for five years. A 90-ton truck would also be longer, up to 30 metres, while the present maximum length in both countries is 25.25 metres. A longer length would be advantageous, especially for timber transportation, because of more flexibility in how to place stem bundles of different lengths in the truck. Other things to examine would be vehicle manoeuvrability on narrow forest roads and the effect of different types of tyres on the road and on fuel consumption. The main reason to increase the truck weight is cost. The Government proposal would decrease the forest industry’s transportation costs by 15–20 per cent. For the forest sector this would mean tens of millions of euros annually. The total savings in Finland would rise up to 90–250 million euros per year. Traffic emissions would also decrease by 10–15 per cent, as fewer trucks and less movement would be needed. According to Swedish studies, increasing the truck weight from 60 to 74 tons would decrease the need for movement by a quarter, but if the maximum weight were 90 tons, the decrease would be 40 per cent. Source: Finnish Forest Association | ||
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