Freight Issues and Policy Options National Freight Forum National Academy of Sciences August 30, 200

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Freight Issues and Policy Options
National Freight Forum National Academy of
Sciences August 30, 2001
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Objective

• Present DOT/FHWA freight analysis efforts
• Provide overview of outreach results
• Define framework for policy development
• Set the stage for further discussion

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Growing congestionmore vehicles... more delay

• Vehicle travel up 72Road Miles up 1
• 1980-1998

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Deteriorating and disconnected infrastructure

• NHS Connectors
• Poor physical condition
• Poor geometrics
• orphan status
• inadequate coordination of investment strategies

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Complex operationsmany partners in an intermodal
move
Infrastructure Provider and manager- e.g.Traffic
Mgmt.
Port Authority
RR1 Chicago
Port
Railroad
Drayage
Infrastructure Traffic Mgmt
RR2 Chicago
Consignee
Railroad
Drayage
Dest. City
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Different perspectivesState and MPO focus is
regional and local private sector focus is
increasingly national and global
Private Sector(Shippers, Carriers)
Global
National
Regional
Local
Public Sector(States, MPO's)
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Truck Freight Flows, All CommoditiesAll truck
types highway freight density in tons
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Rail Freight Flows, All CommoditiesRail freight
density in tons
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Air-Freight Origins and DestinationsAll
commodities, domestic airport-to-airport traffic,
in tons
Origins
Destinations
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Inland Waterway Freight Flows, All Commodities
Waterway freight density in tons
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Top Gateways for International Freight Exports
and imports in tons
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Preliminary
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Railway Flows of International Freight Moving
into and From the Port of Charleston
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Freight Forecast Growth Rates-Trend

• US Domestic
• 1998-2020 2.9 (Cumulative 87)
• 1998-2010 3.4
• 2010-2020 2.4
• US International
• 1998-2020 3.4 (Cumulative 107)
• 1998-2010 4.0
• 2010-2020 2.9
• International Sectors
• US/Canada 1998-2020 3.1
• US/Mexico 1998-2020 3.5
• US/ROW 1998-2020 3.4

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DOT Freight Outreach Events
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Freight finance issues

• eligibility limitations
• differing program requirements and timing
• co-mingling public/ private funding
• competing needs for limited funds
• cross modal funding

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Workshop Recommendations

• Fund multijurisdictional initiatives
• Set asides for intermodal freight. STP, NHS etc
• Expand borders and corridors program
• Expand CMAQ dollars and eligibility
• Examine innovative financing (TIFIA and RRIF) for
  possible freight enhancements
• Increase public/private cost sharing
• Establish national/regional investment banks
• Create Last Mile or connectors program

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Multijurisdictional Issues

• enabling authority
• membership
• funding
• scope scale
• implementation

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Workshop Recommendations

• Provide national strategic planning role through
  USDOT,AASHTO, and Governors
• Federal enabling authority for multistate
  coalitions
• Federal seed money for coalitions
• Provide a national forum of outreach to regional
  coalitions
• Federal government data gathering role
• Focus on systems and regions, not modes and
  corridors

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Planning and Programming Issues

• Public/private time horizonsdifferent cultures
• Poor freight representation in planning process
• Inadequate data and toolsinability to
  understand, analyze, prioritize, and evaluate
• Modal focus..inability to coordinate effectively
  across jurisdictional lines
• Lots of needs...not enough money

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Workshop Recommendations

• Think in terms of freight and passenger
  transportation versus modes
• Establish freight-specific performance measures
• Expand public involvement, education, and
  awareness of freight issues
• Improve analytic models/tools and data access
• Partner with the private sector
• Incent the system to address freight

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Freight operations issues

• Bridging the culture of infrastructure and
  operations
• Understanding the perspectives of different
  players
• Privacy
• Coordination

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Workshop Recommendations

• Exploit technology for improved operations
• Dedicated funding for freight programs
• Creation of public-private partnerships, where
  all parties have a stake
• Educate the public, legislators, MPOs and the
  industry on the complexity of freight logistics
  and the need for uniform data to help manage the
  process

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What Have We Learned to Date?Outreach - Points
of agreement

• Freight productivity and reliability are in
  jeopardyfailure to address it will significantly
  influence our economy and quality of life
• This situation is of national,regional, and local
  interestprogress will involve many
  partiesFederal leadership is required
• We must make better use of all modes of freight
  transport by improving intermodal choice,
  connectivity, and interoperability
• We must shorten the time for decision making and
  action
• Funding is keyunlock the partnership potential
  by sharing the risks
• Beware of market distortion by governmental
  action

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Freight Challenges for the Future

• Freight will nearly double by 2020, with higher
  growth in some corridors and metropolitan
  areassouthern California expects a quadrupling
  of freight, and two Chicago's of new residents
• International trade will grow relative to
  domestic trade added pressure on borders, ports
  of entry, and intermodal connectors
• Customer expectations are higher, but so is
  community resistance to new capacity
  environmental and safety concerns are high

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Freight Challenges (cont.)

• Freight is tough for governmenttime horizons are
  differentthe public/private relationship is
  problematic
• Solutions need intergovernmental coordination
  among jurisdictions and among Federal, State,
  and local agencieswith private sectorfew good
  models exist
• Agreement among parties on funding is the single
  greatest challengecurrent planning and financing
  methods are not sufficient to address freights
  unique concerns

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The Policy Response

• Freight solutions will involve new capacity
  coupled with improved operations
• Operate the system as a system, not as individual
  modes/elements
• Improve intermodal connections to offer choice
  and interoperability
• Support multijurisdictional coalitions to deal
  with corridor and network issues
• Improve freight planning, financing, and program
  delivery

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Policy framework

• Support new institutional arrangements to
  coordinate decision making and implementation
• Expand the use of information technology to
  improve freight operations
• Work with State and local partners, and the
  private sector, to improve infrastructure
  decision making and finance needed improvements
• Ensure that the US trade transport system
  supports international trade development

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institutional development

• Support the creation and operation of multistate
  and multijurisdictional coalitions
• self-identified
• public/private
• accountable to State and local governments
• Federal supporting role
• Strengthen the freight planning and programming
  process

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information technology for improved system
operations

• Test and evaluate IT/ITS to improve freight
  logistics and border processing
• Ensure interoperability of technology deployments
• Promote standards and protocols for domestic and
  international trade transportation
• Implement regional intermodal freight operations
  programs - test and evaluate
• Develop a strategic freight data/analytical
  capability to better understand freight markets,
  trends, and opportunities

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capacity and freight infrastructure

• Focus investment on the last mile, the NHS
  freight connectors
• address PUD issues in congested urban areas
• develop quick response freight programs to bridge
  the public/private time horizon gap
• examine TIFIA options for freightdevelop models
  for public/private partnerships
• Consider special funding programs for intermodal
  freight improvements

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international trade transport

• Evaluate TEA-21 borders and corridors
  programspossibly redefine to have more
  intermodal and multistate focusexpand to include
  marine POEs
• expand US/Mexico/Canada examination of trade
  transport and border/corridor improvement
  opportunities
• Examine additional areas of trade such as EC,
  Pacific Rim and South America for transport
  implications

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National freight productivity to do list

• Raise awarenessconnect the dots
• Establish the public interest
• Develop new finance models
• Define a national agenda for freight operations
• Exercise leadership among States/MPOs
• Enhance international trade transport

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Toward Surface Transportation Reauthorization-
Freight elements?
Efficiency
Equity
Effectiveness
1991 - 97
1998 - 03
2004 - ??