GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Sep 14, 2026
Diesel
Diesel is the fuel almost all land-based freight transport runs on: trucks, diesel locomotives on non-electrified lines, terminal handling equipment, reefer container units and auxiliary engines on board.
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Source: Frachtportal-News «Australien fördert mehr Güter auf der Schiene, um Diesel zu sparen» (14.09.2026); Australian Government, TRACK Grant Opportunity Guidelines (September 2026)
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Definition & Explanation
Diesel is the fuel almost all land-based freight transport runs on: trucks, diesel locomotives on non-electrified lines, terminal handling equipment, reefer container units and auxiliary engines on board. For freight forwarders it is also the most volatile cost element, which is why contracts separate it from the base rate through fuel surcharges or a diesel floater. In economic policy terms diesel is a security-of-supply question: countries that import most of their requirement are exposed to conflicts along shipping lanes or to refinery outages – which is why some governments deliberately shift freight to rail and coastal shipping, both of which consume a fraction of the fuel per tonne-kilometre. In emissions accounting, diesel consumption is the most reliable basis available, since CO2 follows directly from the volume bunkered rather than from estimates. Diesel should be distinguished from biodiesel and HVO, drop-in fuels for the same engines, and from the heavy fuel oil used in deep-sea shipping.
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