Comment by dzonga
1 day ago
this is well written. thank you - you broke down the economics nicely.
I do think maybe with a hub & spoke model - big trucks move loads to hubs -- then smaller electrified trucks cover the less than 200 miles from hub to spoke. electrified smaller trucks and vans are already economical today.
you get to benefit from using diesel for long haul routes - while also - better economics on the electrified front i.e a hybrid model
The cost to load/unload a truck becomes the main expense if you move it too many times.
This is why LTL shipments can be a significant fraction of just sending an entire container, and that's assuming they're still palletized.
And I'd rather have last-mile trucks with Direct Vision, no blindspots etc driving around city streets, backing into stores etc., than huge 44 tonne long haulers that can maul pedestrians in an instant.
Trains for longer distances and then electric trucks for last mile
Maybe there are ways to make that faster and cheaper now with more computers and automation.