Air emission and environmental impact assessment of Korean automotive logistics

In South Korea, the automotive industry generates a significant amount of air emissions during the distribution stage of its life cycle. In order to understand the environmental effects of the finished automobile logistics, this study assesses the emissions of seven air pollutants and four types of environmental impact potentials from finished vehicles transported via three transportation modes. To estimate the total amounts of air emissions, this study utilizes an attributional life cycle approach in terms of the transport load for the distribution stages of domestic and oversea production cases of South Korea's automotive industry, while further assessing the environmental impact of the finished vehicle logistics using the life cycle assessment software tool, Gabi. The results of the case study indicate that the transportation activities of total finished vehicles made in South Korea and the United States for Korean owned automobile manufacturers generate a significant amount of carbon emissions and a negligible amount of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere. With respect to the environmental impacts, the results indicate that the vessel for the South Korean logistics and the truck for the United States logistics have the largest influences on global warming potential and acidification potential. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.