Future Freight Through Transport Technology

Transport technology could play a transformative role in supporting Australia’s growing freight task by driving efficiency, sustainability, and resilience across the supply chain. Advanced digital platforms, such as real-time freight tracking, predictive maintenance systems, and integrated logistics management tools, can reduce delays, improve asset utilisation, and through efficiency reduce emissions. Automation technologies — including autonomous freight vehicles, and automated warehousing — can address workforce shortages and improve safety, particularly in remote and regional areas. 

These technologies offer the opportunity to future-proof the freight sector, enabling it to manage rising volumes while building a safer, smarter, and more sustainable logistics network. To better understand the challenges facing the freight sector engaging directly with industry and their customers is critical to design the most effective technology solutions that actively work to deliver real-world solutions. This project, through industry collaboration aims to identify, classify, and evaluate transport technologies that can improve the efficiency, safety, sustainability, and resilience of the national freight task.

Australia’s freight sector is vital to the national economy, underpinning domestic supply chains and international trade. With freight volumes expected to grow considerably, the sector faces mounting pressure to become more efficient, sustainable, and resilient - especially in a country with vast distances, low population density, and a reliance on road and rail transport.

The Australian freight sector is at a crossroads. While it faces serious challenges from aging infrastructure, environmental pressure, and workforce shortages, there is immense potential in adopting advanced technologies. Digitisation, automation, and clean energy innovations offer scalable, future-proof solutions, positioning the sector not just for resilience, but for leadership in a safer, sustainable logistics future.

This project aims to explore how emerging transport technologies can address critical challenges in Australia’s freight sector. It will conduct a comprehensive literature review to establish the current baseline and identify emerging technologies relevant to the Australian freight sector. Building on this foundation, stakeholder consultations with freight stakeholders will provide qualitative insights to ground the analysis in real-world practice. Together, these approaches will identify how transport technology can enhance efficiency, sustainability, and resilience, positioning Australia as a leader in the future of freight.

Australia’s freight sector faces a number of interrelated challenges that threaten its efficiency and long-term sustainability. Aging road and rail infrastructure across key freight corridors limits the capacity and reliability of transport networks, while congestion in urban centres and at major ports leads to delays and rising operational costs. Compounding these issues is limited intermodal connectivity, which hinders the smooth transfer of goods between road, rail, and sea transport. Supply chains are also increasingly vulnerable to disruption from both domestic and global events. 

Frequent extreme weather incidents—such as floods and bushfires—regularly interrupt freight movement, while global crises like COVID-19 and geopolitical tensions have exposed weaknesses in Australia’s import-export resilience. At the same time, the freight sector is under mounting pressure to decarbonise, as it accounts for roughly 38% of national transport emissions. Meeting stricter environmental regulations and net-zero commitments demands significant investment in cleaner fuels and technologies. These pressures are further intensified by a growing shortage of skilled drivers and logistics personnel, with an aging workforce and waning interest in freight-related careers posing a long-term threat to the sector’s capacity and reliability.[ML1] 

Key Challenges

Infrastructure Limitations

• Aging road and rail infrastructure in key freight corridors constrains efficiency.
• Congestion in urban areas and at ports leads to delays and increased operational costs.
• Limited intermodal connectivity hampers smooth transfer between transport modes.

Supply Chain Disruptions

• Extreme weather events (floods, bushfires) regularly impact freight movement.
• Global disruptions (e.g., COVID-19, geopolitical tensions) expose vulnerabilities in import-export chains.
• Surging demand for home deliveries and growth of e-commerce

Environmental and Regulatory Pressure

• The freight sector contributes significantly to national emissions (~38% of transport emissions).
• Stricter environmental regulations and net-zero targets require costly shifts to cleaner fuels and practices.

Labour Shortages

• There is a growing shortage of skilled drivers and logistics workers.
• An aging workforce and declining interest in freight-related careers intensify the issue.

Technology Opportunities

Some areas, ITS and C-ITS and other technologies like AI, could support the freight task, the drivers, and the full supply chain are already known but there is a real need to test and trial and affirm the cost benefits and build consensus with the industry on their real world efficacy. Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) offer powerful tools to address many of the key challenges facing Australia’s freight sector. By enabling real-time data exchange between vehicles, infrastructure, and operators, C-ITS could significantly enhance the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of freight operations. There are a range of opportunities for C-ITS to help resolve specific challenges, including: 

Infrastructure Limitations

C-ITS enables dynamic traffic and network management, allowing freight vehicles to reroute in real-time to avoid congestion or roadworks, easing pressure on aging infrastructure. Priority signal systems for freight at intersections and ports can streamline movement, while road condition data sharing helps authorities proactively maintain infrastructure before failures occur.

Supply Chain Disruptions

C-ITS supports real-time situational awareness during extreme weather events or emergencies, allowing for early warnings and safer route adjustments. During global or regional disruptions, C-ITS-enabled logistics systems can re-optimise deliveries across available networks, improving resilience and responsiveness across the supply chain.

Environmental and Regulatory Pressure

Through platooning and smoother traffic flows, C-ITS reduces fuel consumption and emissions. It also enables eco-driving support and low-emissions zone compliance by sharing data on speed limits, gradient, and optimal acceleration. This helps operators meet tightening environmental regulations while cutting operational costs.

Labour Shortages

C-ITS enhances the safety and ease of freight driving, supporting partially automated functions and reducing driver fatigue. Systems that assist with lane positioning, blind spot monitoring, and traffic merging can extend the careers of older drivers and make freight jobs safer and more attractive to younger workers. C-ITS also supports remote monitoring and fleet coordination, reducing the demand for manual intervention in day-to-day operations.

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The project will adopt a mixed-methods approach, combining comprehensive literature review, quantitative data analysis, and structured qualitative stakeholder engagement to evaluate the potential of C-ITS and other transport technologies in Australia’s freight sector. This integrated methodology ensures findings are evidence-based and grounded in real-world operational contexts. The research methodology includes the following phases:

Phase 1 – Conduct literature review

Conduct a comprehensive literature review encompassing both academic research and industry publications. This review will identify and classify high-impact use cases where C-ITS and other transport technologies could address critical freight sector challenges. Special attention will be given to capturing case studies, pilot projects, and real-world implementations, providing insights into practical applications, demonstrated benefits, and lessons learned. The outcome will establish a robust evidence base to inform subsequent evaluation and stakeholder engagement

Phase 2 – Stakeholder consultations

Stage 1 – Individual Consultations:

Up to 15 one-on-one interviews will be conducted with key stakeholders, including freight operators across road, rail, and intermodal networks; technology vendors such as OEMs and C-ITS platform providers; local, state, and federal government agencies; logistics operators; and research partners including iMOVE CRC and relevant universities. These interviews will gather qualitative insights, validate findings from the literature review and use case analysis (Phase 1), and capture real-world operational, regulatory, and technological considerations. Consultations will be held weekly over a three-month period, with at least 12 interviews expected to ensure robust and representative input. All interviews will be conducted in accordance with the university’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) requirements. Ethics approval will be obtained prior to commencing data collection to ensure that all participants are properly informed, consent procedures are followed, and confidentiality is maintained.

Stage 2 – Stakeholder Workshop:

Following the interviews, a facilitated workshop involving a broader range of stakeholders will be held to disseminate key findings from Phase 1 and the stakeholder interviews. The workshop will engage a broader range of stakeholders (beyond interview participants), including local governments, road managers and future users. The workshop will provide an opportunity to test assumptions, refine analyses, and build alignment among participants on key priorities and next steps. In-person engagement is preferred to encourage open discussion and collaboration. A key deliverable from this engagement program will be a comprehensive Stakeholder and Issues Matrix, summarising perspectives, insights, and opportunities identified throughout both stages.