Transportation energy demand forecast by geographical region
Several issues arise from this fact. The first issue, which will be discussed in the following section, has to do with the negative environmental impacts of increasing energy demand by the transport sector. The second issue has to do with the volatility of energy prices and the rising trend these prices exhibit.
The figure following shows the historical price of crude oil from 1947 through 2009. The chart provides an indication of the volatility of the cost of oil over this period. The interesting observation from the chart is not only the rising cost of oil, but the increasing volatility of its price. Projections for future price increases and volatility levels indicate that these trends will increase in the future (Singleton, 2011). Increasing volatility in fuel prices implies that transportation and logistics operations, which have already been described as highly cost driven, will face the twin problems of pricing uncertainty and cost pressure.
