The purpose of this study was to formulate a basis for transport policy for the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism on the basis of the most reliable forecasts possible on the growth of e-commerce induced freight traffic in the medium term. In addition, suggestions to cope with the anticipated increase in the volume of traffic are made. The main issues to be answered in this study are: to clarify the annual e-commerce-related growth in absolute figures in relation to EU-trade in the medium term; to quantify the impact of e-commerce on freight transport as regards the mode of transport and transport routes; to assess the impact of e-commerce on the use of conventional delivery services and the mode of delivery; and to quantify the avoidance of physical freight transport resulting from dematerialization. To obtain a complete picture of the relation between e-commerce and its impact on transport, the study also takes into account non e-commerce trends. On the basis of the results obtained, the question is "what transport policy measures should be taken at community level having regard to existing environmental standards in order to cope with any anticipated increase in demand for transport services?" This study identifies several policy actions that the European Parliament may undertake or support. For the covering abstract see ITRD E124693.
Abstract