The Belgian national postal operator Bpost will eventually replace all its traditional truck trailers with double-deck trailers (DDT). These can carry more letters and parcels during a trip. With such a DDT, 69 postal containers at once can be transported between the hundreds of sorting and distribution centers across Belgium. In an ordinary trailer, only 44 mail containers fit.

This increases the total loading capacity of one trip with a DDT by almost 60%, so fewer trips are needed and, therefore, fewer trucks on the road. Consequently, the DDTs contribute to a better environment and a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions, Bpost argues.

Solar panels

The standard trailers in Bpost’s truck fleet will be systematically replaced by DDTs. For now, there are ten of them running. End of 2023, the truck fleet will already have 14 such double-deck trailers on the road, 38 in 2024.

The new trailers will be purchased, not leased. Some of the trailers will be equipped with user-friendly moveable floors and with solar panels to operate the moveable floor and tailgate. Unlike a fixed floor, the floor of the upper trailer comes down so that the loading dock is at the same level. These models are not only more sustainable but also more user-friendly.

550 new DDTs

Today, Bpost’s total truck fleet comprises 650 trucks and 330 trailers. By 2030, the Bpost group aims to acquire over 320 double-deck trailers and increase that number to 550 over the next 20 years.

The recently purchased DDTs are of the Iveco brand, a regular partner of Bpost. They are not e-trucks. Iveco will only present its first e-truck, the NIKOLA, at the end of this year. The first hydrogen-powered truck will follow in 2025. It is unclear whether Bpost also wants to bet on this kind of truck in the short or long run.