The Transportation Research Board (TRB) recently appointed Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers and staff members as chairs and co-chairs on TRB committees and groups. These newly appointed chairs and co-chairs started their term April 15. Committee chairs may serve two consecutive three-year terms, and group chairs a three-year term. TRB staff make recommendations for […]
freight
Freight by the Numbers: Everything’s Bigger in Texas
3.3B Total freight tons transported* $3T Total worth of freight shipped* 313,000 Roadway centerline miles* 600B Truck trips annually ~39.6B Data points sorted annually via algorithm to assess freight fluidity and better understand truck parking *The Economic Role of Freight in Texas – Executive Summary published by the Texas Department of Transportation (April 2021).
Big Data Saves DOTs Time, Resources for Truck Parking Analysis
Truck drivers cover hundreds of miles a day carrying goods from distribution centers to store shelves. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requires truckers to take regular breaks and stop driving altogether once they pass a certain time behind the wheel. That means they must park their trucks and rest somewhere, and that can be […]
TTI Develops Guidebook for Implementing Freight Fluidity in Texas
The efficient movement of goods is vital to the Texas economy, whatever the mode of transportation — via airports, highways, railways or waterways. Any disruption in the supply chain that prevents goods from moving efficiently can add not only to the costs of producing and shipping goods, but also to the variability and pricing of […]
Shipping Stranglehold: Pandemic Hampered Business Operations and Supply Chains in Texas
The COVID-19 pandemic rattled industries and crippled supply chains worldwide. The results were also evident in the Lone Star State, as research by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) illustrates. Institute experts conducted research studying the impacts of COVID-19 at the Texas–Mexico border and found that the effects of the viral outbreak were felt almost […]
Looked Good on Paper — But Blockchain Technology Is Revolutionizing Data Management, Security
As part of a classroom assignment at Harvard Business School in 1978, Dan Bricklin created the prototype for spreadsheet software. Not only did it make paper-based account ledgers with handwritten figures obsolete, but Steve Jobs credited Bricklin’s invention — dubbed VisiCalc (short for visible calculator) — with the success of the Apple IIe, the personal computer […]
Ocean of Possibilities — MarTREC Explores Blockchains for Maritime Industry
Endless waves. Cloud-dotted skies. Foaming wakes left by ships. Along the shore, ports bustle with activity, their efficiency in transporting international trade a key part of the U.S. economy. Intermodal carriers move freight inland from those ports, ultimately to stock store shelves and land on consumer doorsteps. The Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center (MarTREC) […]
TTI’s Villa Publishes Book on North American and European Trade and Transportation
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Research Scientist Juan Carlos Villa published International Trade and Transportation Infrastructure Development: Experiences in North America and Europe (1st edition) Apr. 24, 2020, on Elsevier’s publisher platform. Villa is a co-author with Maria Boile, director of the Hellenic Institute of Transport, part of the Center for Research and Technology Hellas, […]
America Without Railroads? Yes, That Almost Happened.
By Allan Rutter You could be forgiven for not knowing who Harley Staggers was. After all, the name sounds like a character in an Elmore Leonard novel. But the next time you stop at a gas station or drive on streets and highways to get there, just know that this West Virginian made those activities […]
Truck Drivers Are Essential Workers, Too
By Allan Rutter When the Oxford Dictionary chooses its word of the year for 2020, “essential” will be a strong contender, as the label for these service providers we couldn’t function without during the COVID-19 pandemic: First responders, nurses, doctors, and other hospital workers. Grocery store stockers, cashiers, and baggers. And of course, truck drivers. […]
Looking to the Future with the Texas Connected Freight Corridors Project
Imagine yourself driving a truck along I-35 filled with perishable goods. You rely on your eyes to predict what you might encounter on the road ahead, though you can’t always see every hazard. Advanced transportation technologies can make the difference, noticing (and reacting to) things the human eye can’t. Mobility, safety, reliability, security — all […]
On a Typical Day, Texas Drivers Face Longest Delays on Houston, Austin Freeways
Fueled by the state’s steady growth and healthy economy in 2018, Houston’s West Loop this year is set to repeat its rank as the most gridlocked corridor in the state. Interstate 35 in central Austin comes in a close second, with the Southwest and Eastex Freeways in Houston and the Woodall Rodgers Freeway in Dallas […]
Oil Exports Top Imports For the First Time, Adding to Texas Transportation Challenges
By Allan Rutter In the last week of November 2018, daily exports of U.S. oil, gasoline and other products exceeded imports for the first time in nearly 70 years, thanks in large part to energy-rich Texas. But despite appearances, the boom of the state’s oil and gas production will not halt the flow of oil […]
TTI, Texas A&M Provide High-Tech Border Security Through New DHS Center of Excellence
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases (IIAD) a 10-year grant to lead its new Center of Excellence for Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) is part of the interagency Texas A&M team. “Texas A&M looks […]
The Port Community of Veracruz Launches a Blockchain Initiative to Improve Port Operations
dexFreight Inc. and Texas A&M Transportation Institute will run the project An innovative application of blockchain technology will be put to the test at the Port Community of Veracruz, Mexico by a team of researchers from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and dexFreight, a Florida-based blockchain and logistics startup. The project will help define […]
A Lesson in Economics, Featuring Seaports and Your Stuff
By Jim Kruse The next time you’re trying to understand the global economy — the next time that hearing about tariffs and trade deficits makes you want to tune out — just remember that much of the study of economics boils down to just two things: seaports and your stuff. That’s because you use a […]
TTI Helps Nebraska Town with Life- and Time-Saving Rail-Monitoring System
With decades of experience helping cities establish rail-monitoring systems for the safety and convenience of their citizens, Leonard Ruback added Fremont, Nebraska, to his portfolio when that city’s system went on line in May. Ruback is a senior research scientist at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). Ruback’s work developing rail-monitoring systems began more than […]
TTI Research Looks at What Makes Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes More Severe
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) looked at nearly 2,800 commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes from 2011 through 2014 in 20 counties across the state of Texas. Half of the counties had high levels of oilfield activity. The researchers used statistical tools to identify the top factors associated with more severe crashes. The Federal Motor […]
Reaching the Worldwide Marketplace — TTI’s Center for International Intelligent Transportation Research Solves Cross-Border Transportation Problems
For the international economy to thrive, economic development can’t stop at national borders. Facilitating growth requires moving goods efficiently from one country to another, which in turn requires a vital, robust transportation system. In 2006, the Texas Legislature established the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Center for International Intelligent Transportation Research (CIITR). Through applied research, […]
TTI’s Center for Ports and Waterways Helps Sponsors Navigate Economic Opportunity
The Texas Marine Transportation System includes 1,000 harbor channels; 25,000 miles of inland, intracoastal and coastal waterways; and 3,700 terminals handling passenger and cargo movements. And it connects with 152,000 miles of rail, 460,000 miles of pipelines, and 45,000 miles of interstate highways. With 11 deepwater seaports as international gateways and more than 1,000 miles […]
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