Freight and Trade Division

TTI’s Freight and Trade Division is comprised of three freight transportation related programs and a specialized university center in marine transportation.

What We Do

Implement Solutions

We design and install practical tools and technologies to measure freight movement, from monitoring use and availability of public truck parking areas to measuring movement and air quality impacts of trucks through cross-border infrastructure and inspections. We use data to explain movement of oversized and overweight vehicles and of hazardous materials. We capture and explain safety data for multiple freight transportation modes, focusing on how freight safety can positively impact both communities and workers.

Explain freight Movement

We know trucks and trains, ships and planes and help connect the public and private sectors in freight planning. Our experience and in-depth understanding of global trade dynamics and logistical issues translates to operations of ocean vessels, inland barges, intermodal containers, and freight trains. We help planners match infrastructure capacity and use to major industries in a region or in a state, as each industry’s market strategies involve various modes, corridors and ports of entry.

Understand Modal Connections

We help explain how freight not only moves on different modes (trucks, trains, ships) but how public and private infrastructure is involved in connections among the modes in supply chains across the state, from ships to warehouses, from pipelines to manufacturers, from ranches to food processors. We aim to enhance efficiency, safety, and resilience in freight transportation. We also can examine rail safety and operational issues at rail system interfaces at highway-rail grade crossings, seaports, inland ports/freight transfer hubs, and international ports of entry.

Evaluate International Trade and Border Mobility

We apply multimodal strategies to enhance transportation systems in both urban and rural areas of the border region. We provide border crossing wait time instrumentation and reporting services for national and regional transportation and air quality agencies. We use technical excellence to drive connectivity and efficient transportation to and across the border.

Track Freight Economic and Community Impacts

We assess impacts on freight flows due to changes in infrastructure or new technologies for the transportation system, specific industry sectors and/or private companies. We are adept at identifying the economic consequences of current or proposed intermodal trade activity and can develop economic impact statements for public/private entities on infrastructure needed. We help communities and infrastructure owners to appreciate the challenges truck drivers face in locating safe, secure parking to meet federal regulations on necessary rest periods.

A large orange cargo ship labeled Telma Kosan Douglas moving through a port with industrial structures and a bridge in the background.

Several semi-trailer trucks drive in both directions on a wide road beneath overhead signs, with more trucks visible in the background.

Aerial view of a rail yard with multiple train tracks, freight trains, industrial buildings, and a surrounding urban residential area.

Our Focus Areas

Safety and Efficient Freight Movement

We understand how the goods people buy go to their stores or to their doors.

Supply Chain Analysis

We explain how single or multiple freight commodities move along corridors and through supply chains

Truck parking

We analyze the truck parking needs at local, state or regional level for both commercial vehicles and OS/OW loads using data-driven methods

Freight and Passenger Rail Planning

We perform freight and passenger rail planning/policy analysis using large rail datasets to identify operational issues and improve safety at highway-rail grade crossings and along railroad tracks.

International Trade and Transportation Analytics

We conduct analysis of trade flows, economic impacts, and supply chain efficiency in and around border area facilities

Policy, Operations and Economics of Maritime Transportation

We analyze and present balanced perspectives on public policy issues related to ports and marine transportation

Cross-Border Mobility/Bi-national Transportation Planning

We work closely with US, state, and local government agencies to maximize safe and secure movement of both people and goods

Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) Transportation

We ensure the safe movement of hazardous materials on the multimodal freight network through data collection and analysis and creation of emergency response planning

Freight Automation and Automated/Autonomous Trucking

We help transportation planners, motor vehicle regulators and the emergency response community understand the operations of automated trucks and other automated freight vehicles on the transportation network

Our Work

A fleet of white cargo trucks is parked in a lot under a clear sky, with one truck facing forward and several others parked side by side.

2024 Truck Parking Workshop

TTI organized and facilitated a hybrid workshop on public sector efforts to plan and develop truck parking capacity, including regional truck parking needs assessments, truck parking information systems, truck parking information tools and truck parking capacity expansion. This project was conducted as one of many subtasks under the TTI-TxDOT Freight Planning IAC.

Multiple semi-trucks and cars are lined up in heavy traffic on a multi-lane highway during the daytime.

Cargo Consolidation, Routing and Location Optimization to Reduce Traffic Congestion

This paper demonstrated the benefits of consolidating freight movements in an urban area to reduce the number of truck trips and vehicle miles traveled. The paper examined two supply chains in the Houston area and calculated baseline traffic patterns and estimated opportunities for combining trips.

Police vehicles and traffic surround an oversized load with escort vehicles on a busy highway near an exit; construction cones line the road.

NCHRP Research Report 1115 Transporting Freight in Emergencies: A Guide on Special Permits and Weight Requirements, 2024

TTI developed guidance for state departments of transportation for considering options to better anticipate and respond to state and federal emergencies, specifically related to the movement of overweight commercial vehicles carrying emergency commodities within a state or across a region.

An ambulance with American Medical Response on its side drives down a street, passing a blue car, with trees and buildings blurred in the background.

Texas First Responder Guide for Interactions with Automated Vehicle (AVs), February 2025

TTI developed this guide to provide Texas first responders methods to safely and efficiently respond to a multitude of routine and adverse incident scenarios involving automated vehicles (AVs). Guide content was derived from literature, policy reviews, and a well-attended two-day summit of representatives from the AV industry; first responder organizations; federal, state, and local governments; regulatory agencies; traffic incident management organizations; and other key stakeholder groups.

A Modal Comparison of Domestic Freight Transportation Effects on The General Public: 2001–2019

TTI’s Center for Ports and Waterways (CPW) has performed a series of updated modal comparison studies for the National Waterways Foundation during the past two decades. The following factors were analyzed for each of the three modes of transport in the most recent modal comparison study: Cargo capacity, Congestion, Emissions, Energy efficiency, Safety Impacts, and Infrastructure impacts.

Aerial view of heavy traffic congestion on a border bridge with trucks and cars in separate lanes; industrial area in the background.

Design and Implementation of Technologies to Measure Border Wait Times at Land Ports of Entry

The project includes the design and implementation of a system to measure border crossing time and delay and analyze performance measures at border crossings. This project includes operating and maintaining the system and disseminating the information to relevant stakeholders in Mexico and the United States – carriers, shippers, and U.S. and Mexican federal, state and local agencies. The system has been implemented at multiple border crossings at the U.S./Mexico border in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and California.

Aerial view of a highway curving around a rocky hill, with a sprawling urban area in the background and a dry, sandy landscape in the foreground.

Preparation of the Texas Legislature-Required Reports on the International Trade Corridor Plan and the Border District Trade Transportation Report for TxDOT

The International Trade Corridor Plan fulfills the requirements of the Texas Transportation Code (§201.114 and §201.6011) by providing an overview of Texas’ global trade, including its major commodities and trading partners. It highlights the state’s trade-facilitating infrastructure, such as highway and rail corridors, pipelines, and gateways, which include land border crossings, maritime ports, airports, and inland ports.

The Border District Trade Transportation Report, required by Rider 14(a) of the General Appropriations Act, focuses on the economic impact of U.S.-Mexico and Texas-Mexico trade on TxDOT border districts (El Paso, Laredo, and Pharr). The report highlights the role of border infrastructure, including commercial motor vehicle and rail crossings, in supporting trade efficiency and economic development.

Both reports include roadway projects let during Fiscal Years 2023–2024, projects under development in the 2025 Unified Transportation Program (UTP), and long-term infrastructure needs beyond the 10-year UTP. While the International Trade Corridor Plan provides a statewide perspective, focusing on major trade corridors that facilitate the movement of U.S.-Mexico and Texas-Mexico trade, the Border District Trade Transportation Report concentrates on trade projects within the border districts.

Map showing clusters of parking events across Texas and neighboring states, with red markers indicating varying parking durations from less than 1 hour to greater than 11 hours.

Texas Truck Parking Visualization Tool

This tool captures truck parking events by location, roadways and corridors, and timing (month and time of day) and presents the information in an interactive map and data summary tables. The tool also presents truck parking information for TxDOT owned safety rest areas and includes reports on truck parking issues.

The Team

our Leaders