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 use, 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 efficiency, safety, sustainability, and resilience of the national freight task.

Participants

• ITS Australia
• Swinburne University of Technology
• University of Melbourne

Project background

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.

Key challenges

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 ecodriving 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.

Project objectives

Main Project Objective: Identify, classify, and evaluate transport technologies that can improve the efficiency, safety, sustainability, and resilience of the national freight task.

Key objectives:

1. Identify and classify high-impact use cases where C-ITS could address known freight sector challenges.
2. Evaluate identified use cases in terms of their practicality, benefits, implementation challenges, and overall potential for adoption in the freight sector.

Ultimately, through this project, the aim is to build industry consensus and confidence around solutions that have been demonstrated as effective and scalable for the freight sector.

Please note …

This page will be a living record of this project. As it matures, hits milestones, etc., we’ll continue to add information, links, images, interviews and more. Watch this space!