Supply Chain Outreach and Rail Economic Impact Study

North Carolina's supply chain is vital to the state's economy, driving job creation, supporting key industries, and facilitating efficient trade and commerce, which collectively enhance the state's competitiveness and economic resilience. Intricately linked to the productivity of North Carolina’s supply chain is North Carolina’s rail system, which serves as a critical network for shipping many raw materials, manufactured goods, and over-sized cargo around the state and across the country. Freight rail provides an important means to export North Carolina products to market and supplies vital manufacturing and agricultural inputs that support the North Carolina economy through business revenue and jobs. The economic benefits of rail are dispersed throughout the state, with recognized benefits occurring corridors with direct access to Class I and short line railroads as well as intermodal and transload facilities. The purpose of this research project is to shine a spotlight on the economic importance of North Carolina’s supply chain and rail system through three primary aims. First, this research aims to bring widespread awareness of the economic importance of North Carolina’s supply chain by disseminating key findings of the Economic Contribution of North Carolina's Supply Chain (RP2023-09) via meetings, webinars, and conferences to a variety of audiences, including transportation professionals, city and regional planners, economic development agencies, and manufacturing organizations, among other key stakeholders. Second, this research project aims to develop an online, interactive Storymap of the results from RP2023-09. Using online visualization as a value add to findings in a report enhances the accessibility and comprehension of complex data, allowing stakeholders to interact with and explore information dynamically, identify trends and patterns more easily, and make more informed decisions based on real-time insights. Third, this research aims to demonstrate the economic importance of passenger rail in Western NC based on the methods and techniques developed in the Economic Contribution of Rail in North Carolina (RP2022-19) and a study titled “Western North Carolina Passenger Rail Feasibility Study” completed by WGI, Inc.

    Language

    • English

    Project

    • Status: Active
    • Funding: $63,163.00
    • Contract Numbers:

      TT2025-04

    • Sponsor Organizations:

      North Carolina Department of Transportation

      Research and Development
      1549 Mail Service Center
      Raleigh, NC  United States  27699-1549
    • Managing Organizations:

      North Carolina Department of Transportation

      Research and Development
      1549 Mail Service Center
      Raleigh, NC  United States  27699-1549
    • Project Managers:

      Bryant, Catherine

    • Performing Organizations:

      North Carolina State University

      Institute for Transportation Research and Education
      909 Capability Drive, Suite 3600
      Raleigh, NC  United States  27606
    • Principal Investigators:

      Findley, Daniel

    • Start Date: 20240801
    • Expected Completion Date: 20250731
    • Actual Completion Date: 0

    Subject/Index Terms

    Filing Info

    • Accession Number: 01944842
    • Record Type: Research project
    • Source Agency: North Carolina Department of Transportation
    • Contract Numbers: TT2025-04
    • Files: RIP, STATEDOT
    • Created Date: Feb 4 2025 4:40PM