Freight Planning for Texas—Expanding the Dialogue

Abstract

Efficient, reliable, and safe freight transportation is critical to the economic prosperity of any region. An efficient multimodal and intermodal transportation system reduces transportation and supply chain transaction costs and increases connectivity, reliability, and accessibility to local and global markets. An efficient freight transportation system, therefore, supports economic development and the expansion of international trade, increases national employment and growth in personal income and the Gross Domestic Product of a region, and improves the quality of life of its citizens. Intermodal and freight concerns have thus received increasing attention in the wake of globalization, increasing congestion, and changes in the logistics structure of shippers to facilitate just-in-time production. Both the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 and the subsequent reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21) have identified an understanding of the needs of the freight transportation sector as a critical component of transportation planning. This study sought to (a) improve the understanding of the size, scope, and type of commodities that are produced, consumed, and moved through different regions in the Texas, (b) gain an insight into the business and transportation system factors that shippers and receivers consider when making shipping decisions, (c) identify and describe factors that impact the competiveness of multimodal freight modes operation in Texas, (d) provide commodity data regarding origin and destination flows that will facilitate updates to various Texas freight models and studies, (e) identify and document significant multimodal freight system trends, needs, and issues in Texas, (f) recommend freight policies, strategies, performance measures, and infrastructure improvements that TxDOT can consider for implementation and funding, and (g) explore the interest, feasibility, and requirements for forming a Freight Advisory Committee in Texas.

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