Trucking operators working under Queensland's Grain Harvest Management Scheme achieved a 99 percent compliance rate last financial year
By Brad Gardner | September 30, 2011
Trucking operators working under Queensland’s Grain Harvest Management Scheme achieved an almost perfect loading compliance record last financial year.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads’ annual report, released this week, says the 2294 participants involved in the scheme during 2010-11 achieved a 99 percent compliance rate.
Run by AgForce Queensland, the initiative allows accredited trucking companies to exceed gross mass limits for a vehicle by up to 7.5 percent and 10 percent for axle mass.
AgForce says the allowances are designed to recognise the difficulties in achieving accurate weights when loading bulk commodities.
“In 2010-11, there continued to be an extremely high compliance rate of loads delivered by scheme participants meeting mass requirements,” the annual report says.
“There was very little under-loading by scheme participants, meaning that the road network was efficiently used and there were reduced truck trips.”
The almost perfect compliance result follows impressive results from previous years, with participants in 2009-10 recording a 97 percent compliance rate and 98 percent in 2008-09.
The department’s annual report also highlights the opening of the route between Toowoomba to the Port of Brisbane for higher productivity vehicles.
A-doubles approved under the performance based standards (PBS) scheme are permitted to carry two 40-foot containers instead of one.
“A typical freight task of 400,000 tonnes on this route can now be handled in 5100 trips, saving 350,000 litres of fuel and 945 tonnes of CO2 emissions,” the annual report says.
NATURAL GAS GRABS TRUCKING’S ATTENTION
According to the department, there is also strong interest in LNG among the trucking fraternity. It says an LNG transport forum it convened last year “evoked strong interest from the transport, logistics and supply chain industry”.
The department says the interest is encouraging because LNG is capable of addressing climate change and energy security challenges facing Queensland’s transport system.
“Natural gas has the potential to reduce heavy vehicle greenhouse gas emissions by about 25 per cent compared to diesel, while at the same time reducing the transport sector’s reliance on imported fuels,” the report says.
“This means Queensland’s abundant natural gas and coal seam gas reserves will be important resources in the nation’s transition to a low-carbon economy.”
The report says Transport and Main Roads is raising awareness among transport operators of the benefits of switching to natural gas.