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Can scant freight data undermine planning?
November 2003
America's top scientific advisory body, the National Academies, believes the size and continued growth of US road freight is now so large that infrastructure planning will be undermined - unless more relevant freight data is collected, analysed and fed into decision-making.
A report prepared by the Academies' Transportation Research Board says new infrastructure projects designed to solve freight problems are already being weakened for lack of detailed statistical information.
It cites the case of Portland, Oregon where a freight network has been included in the city's regional transportation plan.
According to the report, Portland has a series of options for the network but is finding it difficult to choose because there is insufficient data to make the judgement. While the planners know the volume of trucks on a particular route, they know little else. They do not have information on where the trucks are going, what goods they carry, whether their shipments are part of a series of intermodal moves, or whether the goods travelling are trying to meet just-in-time schedules.
The report says the information problem will grow as the truck volume increases. It says15 billion tonnes of freight is currently being carried across the US each year. By 2020 the annual volume is likely to have risen by nearly 70%.
Already there is congestion at ports, airports, and railway yards and on highways. Adding to the problem is the growing importance of global markets and international trade which is leading to goods being transported over longer distances than they were 20 years ago.
"The shift from a manufacturing to a service economy, deregulation, and the advent of freight logistics have all resulted in changes in the nature and volumes of goods shipped and the origins and destinations of the shipments," the board says.
It says much of the existing freight infrastructure was built to accommodate patterns of movements very different from what is needed today. But until adequate data is collected, the new patterns will not be understood.
It suggests the solution would be for US Department of Transportation to coordinate a national freight data network and collect such information as:
- A freight consignment's origin and destination;
- Commodity characteristics, weight, and value;
- Modes of shipment;
- Routing and time of day; and
- Vehicle/vessel type and configuration.
The report is also recommending establishment of an advisory committee of government and private sector users to guide the collection program. It says the data would be used to:
- Identify and evaluate options for mitigating congestion;
- Improve regional and global economic competitiveness;
- Enable effective land use planning;
- Inform investment and policy decisions about modal optimisation;
- Enhance transportation safety and security;
- Identify transportation marketing opportunities;
- Reduce fuel consumption; and
- Improve air quality.
"While data alone cannot guarantee good decisions, informed choices are not possible without good data," says the board.
