Le secteur des transports routiers de marchandises : des conditions de travail et d’emploi souvent précaires

What role can alternatives to traditional freight transport play? The aim of this article is to analyze the role of alternatives to traditional road freight organizations. To do so, it identifies the limits of these organizations, particularly in terms of employment and energy transition. More specifically, three markets are distinguished : long-distance transport, parcel delivery services and platform delivery. For each of these markets, we have carried out qualitative field studies that enable us to identify the market structure and economic imbalances that characterize them, in order to show the consequences for delivery drivers and the energy transition. Faced with these limitations, we then analyze the initiatives created by players in these transport systems. We seek to determine what forms of production organization and business models can make economic performance, dignified work and resource conservation compatible. In the course of our investigations, we identified five alternative forms of organization: couriers cooperatives, groupings of long-distance carriers, a grouping of parcel delivery small companies, a new intermediary for large volumes and a cooperative of farmers and carriers. The article shows that none of these alternatives worked in the parcel delivery sector. On the contrary, in the long-haul and platform delivery sectors, several organizations are proving to be sustainable. Pooling resources and sharing profits seem to be interesting ways of ensuring economic performance, dignified work and energy transition. However, the widespread adoption of these initiatives still raises questions. Geographically, it is limited by the scope of deliveries, and economically, by the need to maintain a high quality of service.