JIUTEPEC, MOR.- Freight transport is no longer just facing pressure to be more efficient, but also to adapt to an increasingly uncertain environment. Disruptions—from weather events to logistical blockades—are no longer isolated incidents but have become a constant that forces a rethinking of operations.
During the panel “Sustainability from multimodal freight transport” , held at the 4th Meeting on Technology and Sustainable Mobility of the National Association of Private Transport (ANTP) , the focus started from the warning that the sector is moving between the need to reduce emissions and the urgency of responding to increasingly frequent disruptions.
From academia, Angélica Lozano, senior researcher at the Institute of Engineering of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) , explained that freight transport is a significant contributor to greenhouse gases, but also one of the most vulnerable to phenomena such as floods, hurricanes or logistical blockages, which directly affect the continuity of supply chains .
In this context, resilience ceases to be an aspirational concept and becomes an operational condition. Recent events (such as the pandemic or disruptions in logistics corridors) have highlighted the fragility of the system and the need to rethink its design.
Faced with this scenario, multimodal transport emerges as an alternative to improve both environmental performance and operational efficiency.
However, Lozano warned that its implementation is not automatic: it depends on factors such as infrastructure, the location of terminals and operation in urban areas, where new impacts such as congestion or higher emissions can be generated
From an operational standpoint, Marco Ávila, Director of Primary Distribution Transportation at Coca-Cola FEMSA , grounded these challenges in the business reality. He explained that energy efficiency—measured in tons transported per liter of fuel—has become central to operational decisions, where combining different modes of transport allows for improved results.
In his experience, rail integration has shown clear benefits in fuel consumption and cargo capacity , although he acknowledged that the infrastructure still limits its potential in the country. He also emphasized that reducing empty trips represents one of the main opportunities to improve efficiency.
Added to this are new technological tests , such as the use of hydrogen cells to enrich diesel combustion, which have allowed improvements of between 10% and 17% in fuel efficiency , with a direct impact on reducing emissions.
For his part, Francisco Kim, Head of Logistics and International Operations at Fábrica de Jabón La Corona , highlighted the need to understand transportation as a complete chain, where the first and last mile, as well as terminal operations, are crucial for achieving sustainable results.
The panelists agreed that the challenge becomes more complex in urban environments. The growth of e-commerce has intensified the pressure on last-mile delivery, where congestion, a lack of loading and unloading zones, and the occupation of public space complicate operations.
At this point, the consensus was that the solution does not depend solely on businesses. The lack of land-use planning, fragmented regulations at the municipal level, and the absence of adequate logistics infrastructure remain structural obstacles that drive up costs and reduce efficiency.
Thus, the sustainability of freight transport is not defined solely by the type of fuel or technology used, but by the ability to coordinate operations, infrastructure, and public policy in an environment where disruption is already part of everyday life.
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