Timberport - Central Installation For Intermodal Roundwood Logistics

The accumulation of forest damage in the main tree species due to climate change, a declining number of employees at truck transport companies and the need to reduce carbon emissions while increasing resource efficiency in the timber supply chain are leading to ongoing efforts to significantly increase the share of roundwood by rail transport for long-distance sales. The current federal government in Germany has set the ambitious target of increasing rail freight transport to 25 per cent by 2030. The basic concept for optimising intermodal timber logistics is the identification of supply areas and the implementation of logistics hubs, known as Timberports. In a recently finalised R&D project with the acronym "VEHIT", solutions for intermodal transport logistics were investigated in a showcase in Bavaria in order to promote roundwood transport by rail. Joint partners in R&D project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture have been DB Cargo Logistics, the German rail service company and Bayerische Staatsforsten (BaySF) as well as associated forest owners and timber marketing associations. Prerequisite for a systematic shift of truck volumes to rail is a high and stable volume of roundwood by bundling and smoothing seasonal fluctuations in demand through the temporary storage of supply volumes as well as levelling seasonal fluctuations in demand by temporarily storing supply volumes, buffering and targeted volume control in the event of calamities, and continuous timber removal out of the forest. On the other hand, ensuring the supply of railwagons and its efficient use by the logistics service provider are elementary components for optimising transport by rail. Various business models were developed for the establishment and ongoing operation of Timberports and then analysed from an economic perspective. These Timberports are characterised by a commensurate loading infrastructure, additional storage capacities and possibly add-on services. In a site analysis, suitable locations were identified for the project region that have the potential to continuously supply Timberports with roundwood. These Timberports were then integrated into the systemic communication and information technology process in roundwood logistics of the partners involved. A summary of the most important operating and business models will be presented. By creating storage areas at the Timberports, efficient whole train transport can also be realised and transport and organisational costs can be reduced through regularly scheduled train runs.