Texas A&M Transportation Institute» freight movement

Should We Move More Cargo via America’s Marine Highways?

Tobey — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 23:48:05 +0000

Moving freight via U.S. waterways is being reevaluated as a cost-effective alternative to congested roadways.

Moving freight along waterways is nothing new in the United States. In fact, historically speaking, waterways were more important to U.S. commerce than any other mode until the advent of railroads. With highways more congested than ever and safety and environmental concerns associated with moving hazardous materials via rail, some are seeing America’s waterways as an attractive, alternative mode.

To evaluate their potential as a substitute for road and rail, the U.S. Maritime Administration has launched the North American Marine Highways (NAMH) Initiative. Despite situations that would seem to favor short-sea shipping and the development of marine highways, the freight community has not embraced the idea of moving a larger share of its cargo over water. Jim Kruse, director of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Center for Ports and Waterways, recently co-authored a white paper examining the whys and wherefores of moving freight via marine highways.

“In this report, we examined both successful and unsuccessful shipping ventures, shipper requirements, vessel considerations, legislation and obstacles impacting NAMH,” says Kruse.

The white paper, NCFRP 17: North American Marine Highways (Report 5), results from an extensive literature review and interviews with a diverse group of stakeholders, and examines the many facets that go into the planning and operation of current and future marine highway services. Kruse concludes that numerous obstacles stand in the way of marine transport start-up businesses, including:

lack of statistical data regarding trade flows,
lack of equipment that qualifies under current statutes and regulations,
shippers unfamiliar with the process or the benefits, and
flow-imbalance issues (significant volume of cargo differences moving in both directions).

Kruse’s findings make it clear that in most instances marine highway shippers and operators are not currently cost competitive with existing alternatives. “There will be no major development of a marine highway system until the overall framework changes,” Kruse states.

In his foreword to the report, Transportation Research Board Staff Officer William Rogers says it will help stakeholders better understand how use of today’s marine highway system could be improved. “The report is especially valuable for its assessment of the conditions of feasibility; its analysis of the economic, technical, regulatory, and logistical barriers inhibiting greater use of the marine highway system; and proposed solutions for barrier elimination,” writes Rogers.

In a second phase of the project, Kruse explored the possibility of transporting heavy and hazardous shipments over water — specifically chlorine and anhydrous ammonia, classified as toxic inhalation hazard (TIH) materials. NCFRP 17: Marine Highway Transport of Toxic Inhalation Materials (Report 18) examined chlorine and ammonia because of their widespread use — ammonia, in the agricultural industry, and chlorine, in 45 percent of all commercial products. The study sought to develop a business case for transporting a larger share of these materials via waterways. The findings weren’t encouraging.

“Unless there are major market or regulatory shifts, we do not anticipate a diversion of TIH materials from rail to marine highway transport,” Kruse concludes. He says the biggest obstacles to marine transport are that the TIH market is not growing and users of the materials are so geographically dispersed, making it difficult to achieve economical load quantities.

Toward a National Freight Data Architecture: TTI Researches the First Steps

Tobey — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 21:52:19 +0000

The efficient interdependency of moving freight by truck, rail and sea is more important than ever. Facilities like the Port of Tacoma in Tacoma, Wash., play a vital role in ensuring the nation’s economic prosperity.

Freight transportation is a powerful cog in our nation’s economic engine. Given the critical role that freight transportation — cargo moved by air, rail, truck, water and pipeline — plays in the nation’s prosperity, freight movement disruptions can have severe economic and national security ramifications. Although much information exists on all aspects of freight movement and their intricacies, a comprehensive catalog of freight-related data sources does not exist.

“Freight transportation is a huge enterprise, and we don’t really have a clear, comprehensive picture of freight movements in this country,” says Cesar Quiroga, manager of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) San Antonio Office. “Integrating all of that comprehensive data is vital for transportation planners and decision makers. Looking into what’s needed in order to develop a national freight data architecture was the basis of our two-year project.”

NCFRP Project 12: Guidance for Developing a Freight Transportation Data Architecture identified numerous benefits that could result from such an architecture. For example, coordinated data sharing would aid overlapping government jurisdictions by offering information about how freight activities might affect them as they initiate new transportation improvement projects. An integrated freight data architecture would also provide a better understanding of supply chains and business processes while potentially eliminating freight data redundancies and inefficiencies.

“It’s important to note that we weren’t attempting to develop the freight data architecture,” Quiroga says. “Our goal in this project was to develop the framework, requirements and specifications for the architecture.”

Quiroga and his team conducted surveys of planners, analysts, shippers and motor carriers to better understand their needs and how they use current data. Borrowing elements from other data architecture initiatives, the team defined a national freight data architecture as “the manner in which data elements are organized and integrated for freight- transportation-related applications or business processes. The data architecture includes the necessary set of tools that describe the related functions or roles, components where those roles reside or apply, and data flows and components at different domain and aggregation levels.”

Part of the research effort was to identify challenges that could hinder the implementation of a freight data architecture at the national level. For example, some freight stakeholders, particularly in the private sector, may be reluctant to share data with their government counterparts. Likewise, some data might be available from data aggregators, but accessing this information could be very expensive. Along with identifying challenges, the team developed a catalog of strategies and recommendations for dealing with those challenges.

“Building a comprehensive data architecture from the outset would be extremely difficult,” Quiroga explains. “That’s why we recommended starting with just one element of freight transportation, like commodity flows, and then building up the architecture using strategic stepping stones.”

According to Transportation Research Board Senior Program Officer Bill Rogers, funding has been approved for a new project tentatively entitled Implementing the Freight Transportation Data Architecture: Data Element Dictionary, which will create and define a catalog of current freight data elements currently being collected. The dictionary will provide managers of data programs with an invaluable reference for identifying differences among variables and building bridges among data sets.

“The work that TTI did on this project was vital in articulating the value of establishing an architecture for linking data across transport modes, subjects and levels of geography to obtain essential information for transportation decision making,” Rogers says.

Celebrating 60 Years of Innovation: A history of saving lives, time and resources

Chris Sasser — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:32:19 +0000

Celebrating 60 Years of Innovation: A history of saving lives, time and resources

The original 1950 charter of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), given by the Texas A&M Board of Directors, charged the Institute with enlisting the broad resources of the college in all forms of transportation research, while giving students the opportunity to study and work in the transportation profession. This agreement solidified the Cooperative Research Program between the then-Texas Highway Department and TTI. Over the last six decades, TTI has provided accurate and timely research to address the state and nation’s most pressing transportation concerns. TTI research recommendations have consistently delivered results to its research sponsors — now numbering more than 200 annually around the globe. The world has been transformed since 1950. Today’s transportation challenges are magnified many times over in size, scope and importance to our economy and quality of life. The need for results-oriented transportation research has never been greater.

Human Factors and Roadside Safety

Left: Texas A&M University Associate Professor Emeritus Rodger Koppa, one of the pioneers of human factors research at TTI, specialized in the design of adaptive equipment for disabled drivers. Hundreds of disabled citizens have benefited from his research over the years.

Right: Dr. Teddy J. Hirsh’s research team invented the “Texas Crash Cushion” in the 1960s. Fatalities due to collisions with concrete abutments were completely eliminated in Houston, going from 27 in seven years to none in the two years following its installation on Houston freeways. Here, Hirsh and his team examine a successful crash test with then-Secretary of Transportation Alan S. Boyd and his wife.

Economics and Freight Movement

Top Left: (left to right) In this photo from 1968, Texas A&M President Earl Rudder, Under Secretary of Transportation Everitt Hutchinson, Dean Fred J. Benson and State Highway Engineer Dewitt C. Greer look at a model used to study various types of grade crossing situations.

Top Right and Bottom: Early economic and freight studies at TTI focused on estimating future needs of the trucking, rail, water and airline industries; improving safety at rail grade crossings; and developing the Interstate Highway System.

Mobility

Top Left: Charles Blumentritt (seated) discusses traffic programming using a then-state-of-the-art IBM 7094 computer. Standing left to right are Charles J. Keese, Charles Pinnell and Joe Wright.

Right: TTI researchers began their quest for better freeway operations in 1961 through work on Houston’s Gulf Freeway. This project was one of the first in the country to use time-lapse and aerial photography to develop mathematical models for use with new technologies and techniques such as ramp meters and computer-driven traffic surveillance and control centers.

TTI’s Former Directors

Left to Right: Fred Benson, Director, 1955-1962; Jack Keese, Director, 1962-1976; Charley Wootan, Director, 1976-1993; and Herb Richardson, Director, 1993-2006.

Shipping to the Future

Chris Sasser — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:27:10 +0000

Marine shipping contributes a fundamental component to the nation's overall freight system.

Business and individual needs for product delivery continue to evolve due to technological advancements, economic globalization, increasing competitiveness and changing market demand. The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) is investigating innovative solutions that support the use of multiple modes of transportation, facilitate freight transfer, reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and provide alternative fuel and funding options.

“Freight transportation is a dynamic environment, and innovations that result in higher efficiency or lower costs quickly change the way freight moves,” says Steve Roop, assistant agency director of TTI. “Nobody likes to pay to transport freight, so low-cost solutions have a considerable potential return on investment.”

Despite rapid incremental changes in freight transportation, significant innovations are rare. Major changes in freight shipments have materialized only every 50 years or so — horse and wagon to railroads to motorized vehicles to just-in-time deliveries. According to the 50-year theory, the next major change is due, and TTI research has identified a key candidate — the Freight Shuttle.

TTI‘s Freight Shuttle concept consists of electric vehicles running on specialized guideway rails. An automated control system with few moving parts and no onboard drivers transports cargo containers along the rails. The Freight Shuttle system is a natural complement to trucking, water and rail operations, serving as a short-distance shipping partner as well as a long-distance option.

“The Freight Shuttle will produce two public revenue streams,” says Roop. “The first comes from leasing public facilities and right-of-way, and the second is from resources saved by reducing pavement damage, decreasing maintenance and relieving congestion. The public also benefits through improved safety and air quality.”

TTI researchers are also working with the Texas Department of Transportation and other sponsors on projects to discover further innovative multimodal freight solutions, such as improved grade-crossing warning systems, tank-car placards, alternative fuels and emissions-reduction strategies.

Another way to prevent potential freight-movement disruptions is through balancing transport across transportation modes and regional boundaries. An upcoming TTI project being undertaken in cooperation with the National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will look at air-cargo operations and activity levels in the 10-state Mississippi Valley Freight Coalition region. Researchers will inventory regional facilities, classify cargo types and examine market demand. The project team will develop resources for planners to use in connecting intermodal traffic to air-cargo operations.

“This project will establish a better understanding of the air-freight system in the Midwest and, ultimately, provide a basis for a long-term strategic plan to integrate increasing air-cargo demand into a coordinated freight system,” says Jeff Borowiec, associate research scientist in TTI‘s Economics, Trade and Logistics Program.

In overland freight, truck traffic on roadways has outpaced growth of the roadways themselves, creating a need for ways to prevent congestion and unpredictability of deliveries. In response to the growing number and size of trucks on Texas roads, current TTI projects are exploring management of oversize and overweight truck loads. Other possible solutions include onboard warning systems and advances in highway design in primary truck corridors.

For waterborne freight, a critical component of the freight circulation system, TTI researchers are looking for ways to capitalize on the benefits of waterborne transportation, including air-quality credits for low emissions and ways to maximize the use of unused waterway capacity.

“Achieving a proper balance of road, water, rail and air transportation that moves freight most efficiently will be important in the coming years,” says Curtis Morgan, manager of TTI‘s Multimodal Freight Transportation Program.

Whether it travels by road, rail, water or air, freight that moves safely, efficiently and cost-effectively keeps our state and national economies thriving. TTI research is providing a basis for future innovations that will move freight quickly and safely, and serve individuals and businesses dealing with rapidly changing economic and social needs.

TTI's futuristic Freight Shuttle will serve as a partner to other modes of freight movement, helping achieve an efficient balance of shipping choices.

Commentary on Freight Movement

Randy Mullett
Vice President for Governmental Relations
Con-way Freight

Freight movement is the lifeblood of our economy. The recent economic downturn proves that every sector depends on moving products efficiently to keep the economy itself moving forward.

Historically, the goal of increasing efficiency has been a hallmark of the freight industry as it has evolved in America. Speed, capacity and reliability were the measures of that success as technological innovation and consumer demand drove the way we shipped products. As the world’s economies have become more interdependent, new markets have developed, bringing with them both opportunities and challenges. The opportunities are obvious; the challenges less so.

For example, different countries have different weight regulations for goods crossing national borders. Freight packaged and loaded one way in China must be repackaged before entering the United States and vice versa. These days the inefficiencies in the system are less related to technology than policy. In fact, thanks to advances in information technology, innovations like just-in-time inventories allow us to invest dollars in research and development instead of renting warehouses.

The near future will see significant changes in the way freight moves. Rising middle classes in China and India will create huge markets for U.S. manufacturers. Our previous example of packaging and repackaging goods is an unacceptable inefficiency if we’re to fully exploit those markets. Further, the intersection of shifting markets, climate change and technological innovation challenges us to find a better way to move goods.

Moving freight is and will continue to be vital to our way of life. Good policy depends on decision makers having reliable research by unbiased agencies like the Texas Transportation Institute. These data are critical to shaping sensible regulations aimed at maximizing opportunity, preserving safety and creating market share. We have the rare opportunity to know with some certainty the role freight movement will play in the next few decades. Shaping that future begins in the present.

Texas A&M Transportation Institute» freight movement

Should We Move More Cargo via America’s Marine Highways?

This Issue

From Texas to the Nation

On this page:

For more information:

Toward a National Freight Data Architecture: TTI Researches the First Steps

This Issue

From Texas to the Nation

On this page:

For more information:

Celebrating 60 Years of Innovation: A history of saving lives, time and resources

Celebrating 60 Years of Innovation: A history of saving lives, time and resources

Human Factors and Roadside Safety

Economics and Freight Movement

Mobility

TTI’s Former Directors

This Issue

Solving the Transportation Puzzle

On this page:

Shipping to the Future

Commentary on Freight Movement

This Issue

Solving the Transportation Puzzle

On this page:

For more information: