Private Sector Responses to Freight Transportation Capacity Constraints

The nation's freight infrastructure is mature, and the capacity constraints in the system are well known by logistics providers and freight carriers. It is clear that capacity is expanding too slowly to keep up with demand. The congestion and inefficiencies resulting from this gap hurt the nation's economy and its competitive status in the global marketplace. Although private-sector firms often cannot improve the bottlenecks, they are innovative in adapting their operations to move freight through congested areas. The users of the infrastructure, operating in a free market, compete to squeeze maximum benefit from the transportation system and may behave in ways that will affect the need for certain public sector investments. It is also the case that public sector agencies make decisions about expanding infrastructure or changing operations without necessarily having a solid understanding of how the private sector will respond. The objective of this project is to catalogue ways in which those responsible for moving freight respond to constraints on freight system capacity. This will be useful in assessing the impacts of projects designed to remedy system constraints. It should also include case analyses of private sector responses to public sector decisions that illustrate both intended and unintended outcomes and the underlying causes. This study will focus on congested segments and chokepoints in the freight transportation system that cause significant drags on its efficiency and costs to the economy. Responses to be considered should include consolidation of origins and destinations for freight movements, as well as various strategies used in transportation management optimization software applications.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=1579
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $300000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  NCFRP 07

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  University Transportation Centers Program
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  National Cooperative Freight Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001
• Project Managers:

  Lemer, Andrew

• Start Date: 20070703
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• Source Data: RiP Project 13667

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Freight service; Freight traffic; Freight traffic measurement; Freight transportation; Origin and destination; Research projects; Traffic congestion
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01543771
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Cooperative Freight Research Program
• Contract Numbers: NCFRP 07
• Files: RIP
• Created Date: Nov 21 2014 1:05AM