Analysis of the Factors Affecting Freight Transportation Energy Consumption Based on LMDI

Abstract

An energy consumption logarithmic mean divisia index decomposition model is built and applied to quantitatively analyze the effects of structure, energy consumption intensity, and turnover of freight transportation on freight transportation energy consumption during 1990–2011. The results demonstrate that a dramatic growth in freight turnover is the main driving force for the increasing in freight transportation energy consumption, which is further intensified by a remarkable increasing in high-energy-consuming transportation modes’ increased proportion. However, the decline in energy consumption intensity of transportation mode is insufficient to restrain the growth of freight transportation energy consumption; therefore, the increasing trend in freight transportation energy consumption is unavoidable. Consequently, integrated measures should be taken to ensure sustainable development of transportation.