Natural Resources Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada

Office of Energy Efficiency Links

 

Office of Energy Efficiency

Menu

Energy Efficiency Trends in Canada, 1990 to 2005

PDF Version | Table of Contents | Next Page

Chapter 6. Transportation sector

Overview – Transportation energy use and GHG emissions

Transportation is second to the industrial sector in terms of energy use, but accounted for the largest share of end-use GHGs in 2005.

The transportation sector is a diverse sector that includes several modes: road, air, rail and marine transport. Canadians use these modes to move both passengers and freight. This chapter describes the energy consumed for these two groups.

In 2005, Canadians (people and companies) spent $60.8 billion on transportation fuels, the most of any sector in Canada and $24.6 billion more than was spent in the industrial sector. The reason for this high level of spending is the notably higher cost of transportation fuels compared to the fuels used in other sectors.

Also, the transportation sector used the second largest amount of energy in Canada at 30 percent of the total, and produced the largest portion of end-use GHG emissions (36 percent). Transportation produces a larger share of the GHG emissions because the main fuels used by the sector are more GHG intensive compared with other areas of the economy.

Figure 6.1 Energy use by sector, 2005 (percent)

Figure 6.1 Energy use by sector, 2005 (percent).

Figure 6.2 GHG emissions by sector, 2005 (percent)

Figure 6.2 GHG emissions by sector, 2005 (percent).

In the transportation sector, passenger modes consumed 55 percent of total energy use, while the freight subsector used 41 percent and off-road vehicles used the remaining 4 percent. Off-road vehicles include such items as snowmobiles and lawnmowers. Off-road transportation is not analysed in this report because little data is available for these items, and they consume only a small portion of the overall transportation energy use.

Figure 6.3 Energy use by subsector, 2005 (percent)

Figure 6.3 Energy use by subsector, 2005 (percent).

Trends – Transportation energy use and GHG emissions

Growth in freight transport drove energy demand in the transportation sector.

Between 1990 and 2005, total transportation energy use increased 33 percent from 1878 PJ to 2502 PJ and the associated GHGs increased 32 percent from 134.7 Mt to 177.5 Mt.

Freight was the fastest growing subsector, accounting for 63 percent of the change in total transportation energy use. Heavy trucks, which have been growing in popularity for moving goods but are more energy intensive than other modes, explain 78 percent of this increase in freight energy use.

Figure 6.4 Transportation sector energy use by energy source, selected years

Figure 6.4 Transportation sector energy use by energy source, selected years.

"Other" includes electricity, natural gas, heavy fuel oil and propane.

Growth in freight transportation contributed to a 66 percent increase in the demand for diesel fuel.

Motor gasoline and diesel fuel oil are the main fuels used in the transportation sector, accounting for 86 percent of the total. In order of use, aviation turbo fuel, heavy fuel oil, propane, electricity, aviation gasoline and natural gas are the remaining fuels that are used for transport. The overall use of diesel fuel increased more than any other fuel because of the large increase in freight activity. However, total diesel use is still less than motor gasoline use. Aviation gasoline and propane are the only fuels whose use decreased over the period.

Transportation energy efficiency

Energy efficiency improvements in transportation resulted in an energy saving of 352.4 PJ in 2005 or $8.5 billion for Canada.

Between 1990 and 2005, energy efficiency in the transportation sector improved 19 percent, leading to a savings of $8.5 billion and 352.4 PJ of energy. These savings were largely a result of improvements in the energy efficiency of heavy trucks and passenger light-duty vehicles. Small savings at the level of individual vehicle types in these modes can have a large impact on the total because these two types of vehicles comprise the majority of transportation use.

Figure 6.5 Transportation energy use, with or without energy efficiency improvements, 1990-2005

Figure 6.5 Transportation energy use, with or without energy efficiency improvements, 1990-2005.

Trends – Passenger transportation energy use and GHG emissions

Light-duty vehicles (small cars, large cars, light trucks and motorcycles) represent the main types of transportation used by Canadians for passenger transportation. Air, bus and rail modes are also used, but to a lesser extent.

For the passenger transportation subsector, energy use is related to passenger-kilometres (Pkm). A Pkm is calculated by multiplying the number of passengers carried by the distance traveled. Therefore, two passengers traveling in a car for 10 km equals 20 Pkm. As the number of Pkm increases, a rise in energy use often occurs, unless energy efficiency improvements have taken place.

More vehicles on the road are driving longer distances, on average.

Energy use in passenger transportation increased 16 percent from 1188 PJ to 1376 PJ between 1990 and 2005. The associated GHG emission increase was 14 percent from 84.6 Mt to 96.2 Mt. During the same period, Canada experienced a 24 percent increase in registered drivers,9 a 13 percent increase in the number of light-duty vehicles registered, and a 9 percent increase in the average passenger distance driven.

Figure 6.6 Passenger transportation energy indicators, 1990-2005

Figure 6.6 Passenger transportation energy indicators, 1990-2005.

Personal vehicles are the main form of passenger transportation in Canada. Consequently, the increase in the number of drivers, the number of vehicles and the distance that vehicles are driven heavily influenced the total Pkm traveled. As a result, overall Pkm increased 34 percent during the period. However, energy use rose by only 16 percent. The difference in these two values can be attributed to changes in the types of vehicles used for passenger transportation and improvements in energy efficiency.

The mix of fuels for passenger transport remained relatively constant. Motor gasoline is the main source of energy, representing 77 percent of the fuel mix in 2005, followed by aviation turbo fuel and diesel fuel.

Figure 6.7 Passenger transportation energy use by fuel type, 1990 and 2005

Figure 6.7 Passenger transportation energy use by fuel type, 1990 and 2005.

* "Aviation fuels" includes aviation turbo fuels and aviation gasoline.

** "Other" includes electricity, natural gas, heavy fuel oil and propane.

More Canadians drive minivans and SUVs.

The choices that Canadians make to meet their transportation needs contribute to the growth in energy use. More Canadians bought minivans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs /light trucks) instead of cars, which are often more fuel efficient. In 2005, 38 percent of all new passenger vehicle sales were light trucks. This change led to a large increase and shift in passenger transportation energy use toward light trucks and away from cars. Between 1990 and 2005, light truck energy use increased more quickly than any other passenger transportation mode, rising 98 percent.

Figure 6.8 Passenger transportation energy use by mode, 1990 and 2005

Figure 6.8 Passenger transportation energy use by mode, 1990 and 2005.

Air transport is rising in popularity.

Canadians increased their use of planes. The popularity of air transportation lead to a increase of 65 percent in aviation Pkm over the period. This increase in activity is a result of both more flights and more passengers per plane compared to 1990. Therefore, this rise of 65 percent in Pkm caused a 39 percent increase in energy use since 1990.

Shared public transit is on the decline.

While road and aviation transportation activity increased, use of shared passenger transit such as trains, buses and tramways decreased since 1990. The most significant decreases were in passenger rail travel (17 percent) and intercity bus travel (8 percent). Urban transit also decreased (5 percent) in Pkm since 1990.

Passenger transportation energy intensity and efficiency

Energy intensity

Passenger transportation energy intensity, defined as the amount of energy required to move one person over 1 km, improved from year to year. Between 1990 and 2005, energy intensity improved 13 percent from 2.4 megajoules (MJ) per Pkm traveled to 2.1 MJ per Pkm. An improvement in vehicle fuel efficiency is the main reason for this change.

In the period, the average fuel efficiency improved for all types of on-road vehicles except motorcycles. Average fuel efficiency is measured by litres used per 100 kilometres (L/100km).

As expected, light trucks have a higher energy intensity level than passenger cars because they also have a higher rate of fuel consumption. This higher energy intensity, combined with the increase in popularity of light trucks, increased passenger energy use.

Figure 6.9 Passenger transportation energy intensity by mode, 1990 and 2005

Figure 6.9 Passenger transportation energy intensity by mode, 1990 and 2005.

Energy efficiency

Energy efficiency improvements in passenger transportation caused an energy savings of 194.7 PJ or $4.8 billion in the transportation sector.

The amount of energy used for passenger travel increased 16 percent, rising from 1188 PJ in 1990 to 1376 PJ in 2005. Also, energy-related GHG emissions increased 14 percent, from 84.6 Mt to 96.2 Mt.10 Without energy efficiency improvements, energy use would have increased 34 percent between 1990 and 2005, instead of the 16 percent.

Figure 6.10 Passenger transportation energy use, with or without energy efficiency improvements, 1990-2005

Figure 6.10 Passenger transportation energy use, with or without energy efficiency improvements, 1990-2005.

Figure 6.11 illustrates the influence that various factors had on the change in passenger transportation energy use between 1990 and 2005. These effects are the

  • activity effect – The activity effect (i.e. Pkm travelled) increased energy use by 30 percent or 357.2 PJ and a corresponding 25.0 Mt increase in GHG-related emissions. Light truck and air transportation led the growth in Pkm (and therefore, activity effect), with respective increases of 141 percent and 65 percent.

  • structure effect – Changes to the mix of transportation modes, or the relative share of Pkm travelled by air, rail and road, are used to measure changes in structure. The popularity of minivans and SUVs increased the activity share of light trucks compared to other modes, contributing to a 30.9 PJ increase in energy consumption and a 2.2 Mt increase in GHG emissions.

  • energy efficiency effect – Improvements in the energy efficiency of passenger transportation saved 194.7 PJ of energy and 13.6 Mt of related GHG emissions. Despite the increasing popularity of larger and heavier light-duty vehicles with greater horsepower, the light-duty vehicle segment (cars, light trucks and motorcycles) of passenger transportation helped save 172.5 PJ of energy.

Figure 6.11 Impacts of activity, structure, and energy efficiency effects on the change in passenger transportation energy use, 1990-2005

Figure 6.11 Impacts of activity, structure, and energy efficiency effects on the change in passenger transportation energy use, 1990-2005.

* "Other" refers to non-commercial airline aviation, which is included in the Total change in energy use value depicted above, but is excluded from the factorization analysis.

Trends – Freight transportation energy use and GHG emissions

The freight subsector in Canada includes four modes: trucking, air, marine and rail. The trucking mode is divided into three truck types: light, medium and heavy. Energy use for freight transportation is related to tonne-kilometres (Tkm). One tonne-kilometre represents the movement of one tonne of goods across one kilometre.

Freight energy use increased 61 percent from 636.9 PJ in 1990 to 1028.3 PJ in 2005. As a result, energy-related GHGs produced by freight transportation increased 61 percent, from 46.4 Mt in 1990 to 74.5 Mt in 2005. Energy use increased for all modes of freight transportation except rail, which experienced a decline of 10 percent. Heavy and light trucks experienced the largest increase in energy use, with the majority of energy consumed for freight transportation.

Figure 6.12 Freight transportation energy use by mode, 1990 and 2005

Figure 6.12 Freight transportation energy use by mode, 1990 and 2005.

The mix of fuels used in the freight subsector remained relatively constant between 1990 and 2005. Diesel fuel oil continues to be the main source of energy, comprising over 71 percent of the fuel consumed for freight transportation.

Figure 6.13 Freight transportation energy use by fuel type, 1990 and 2005

Figure 6.13 Freight transportation energy use by fuel type, 1990 and 2005.

* "Other" includes aviation turbo fuel, aviation gasoline, natural gas and propane.

Just-in-time delivery pushes the demand for heavy-truck transportation.

Maintaining a just-in-time inventory system requires just-in-time delivery. The system uses a relatively small warehouse space for inventory and instead relies on orders arriving to the company just as they are required for production. This change in the inventory system had a major impact on energy use in the freight subsector.

Using transportation vehicles as virtual warehouses requires a very efficient and on-time transportation system. This need is often met by means of heavy trucks. As a result, heavy truck use for freight transportation increased significantly over the period.

Between 1990 and 2005, the number of heavy trucks increased 13 percent and the average distance traveled increased 26 percent, to reach 89 332 km/year. However, heavy trucks are not only traveling longer distances; they are also carrying more freight as the number of trailers they pull increases. These factors are having a major impact on the tonne-kilometres and the energy use that heavy trucks are contributing to the freight subsector.

Figure 6.14 Freight transportation energy indicators, 1990-2005

Figure 6.14 Freight transportation energy indicators, 1990-2005.

Rail remains the main mode to move goods in Canada.

Even with this significant growth in the trucking industry, rail still moves the largest amount of freight in terms of tonne-kilometres at 355.7 billion Tkm. This amount is 43 percent higher than in 1990. Marine followed rail with 241.4 billion Tkm traveled, which is 27 percent more than in 1990.

However, both of these increases are overshadowed by the 190 percent growth in tonne-kilometres of heavy trucks; which is close to the marine's share of total activity.

Figure 6.15 Freight transportation energy use versus activity by mode, 2005

Figure 6.15 Freight transportation energy use versus activity by mode, 2005.

Since 1990, all modes of freight transportation became more efficient in terms of energy use relative to tonne-kilometres moved. Figure 6.15 shows that the relative efficiency of rail and marine is greater than trucks at moving goods. However, over the period, trucks increased in efficiency because their on-road average fuel consumption improved.

Trends – Freight transportation energy use and GHG emissions

Energy efficiency improvements in freight transportation resulted in an energy savings of 157.7 PJ in 2005 or $3.7 billion in the transportation sector.

Between 1990 and 2005, energy use by freight transportation increased 61 percent, from 636.9 PJ to 1028.3 PJ. Without energy efficiency improvements, energy use would have increased 86 percent – 15 percent more than what was observed in 2005.

Figure 6.16 Freight transportation energy use, with or without energy efficiency improvements, 1990-2005

Figure 6.16 Freight transportation energy use, with or without energy efficiency improvements, 1990-2005.

Figure 6.17 illustrates the influence that various factors had on the change in freight transportation energy use between 1990 and 2005. These effects are the

  • activity effect – The activity effect (i.e. Tkm moved) increased energy use 62 percent or 393.2 PJ and caused a corresponding 28.5 Mt increase in GHG-related emissions. This increase was caused by free trade and the deregulation of the trucking and rail industries.

  • structure effect – Changes in the structure of freight transportation (shifts in activity between modes) were due to growth in international trade and customer requirements for just-in-time delivery. The shift between modes was the increase in the share of freight moved by heavy trucks relative to other modes. Because trucks are more energy intensive per tonne-kilometre than other modes, the sector used an additional 155.9 PJ of energy and emitted 11.3 Mt more GHGs.

  • energy efficiency effect – Improvements in the energy efficiency of freight transportation saved 157.7 PJ of energy and 11.4 Mt of GHGs. Improvements in heavy trucks were a large contributor, saving about 52.9 PJ.

Figure 6.17 Impact of activity, structure, and energy efficiency on the change in freight transportation energy use, 1990-2005

Figure 6.17 Impact of activity, structure, and energy efficiency on the change in freight transportation energy use, 1990-2005.

9 Transport Canada, Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics: 2005, Ottawa, December 2006 (Cat. T45-3/2005).

10 Electricity accounts for only 0.3 percent of total passenger transportation energy use and is used, for the most part, for urban transit.

Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page

Previous Page | Table of Contents | Next Page