John Hennessy III,
P.E.
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN RAILROADS
This report, the second in the Association of American Railroads’ State of the Industry series, for the first time ever, shares data that begin to quantify the freight railroad sector’s economic and fiscal impact. The findings underscore the fact that freight railroads trigger a powerful economic ripple effect across a myriad of U.S. industries.
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
METROPOLITAN POLICY PROGRAM
With the recent passage of a new five-year, $305 billion surface transportation bill—Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act—Congress finally brokered a long-term agreement to address the nation’s infrastructure challenges. While the bill pumps needed spending into a range of highway, rail, and transit projects, albeit through some budgetary gimmicks, its most lasting achievement may center on freight.
AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
Unfortunately, the agriculture industry is uniquely dependent on efficient rail freight systems in the hotspots most affected by congestion. Some North Dakota grain elevators, for instance, entirely rely on rail shipment to keep business flowing. Rail congestion in 2014 stopped service to them for weeks and months at a time – a total collapse in the system that supports their livelihood. Ultimately, family farmers bore the costs of scarce rail service. The USDA estimates grain and oilseed producers throughout the Upper Midwest may have received $570 million less for the crops they marketed in 2014 than they could have earned in a normal freight environment.
METROPOLITAN POLICY PROGRAM
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
Each year, the United States moves over $20 trillion in goods weighing over 17 billion tons between hundreds of metropolitan, non-metropolitan, and international regions. It does so using an extensive network of freight assets: over 4 million miles of highways, local roads, railways, navigable waterways, and pipelines; hundreds of seaports and airports; and thousands of intermodal facilities to tie the network together. Without this network, it would be impossible for regional economies to trade goods and reach their full economic potential.
Chad Denny and his family grow wheat in eastern Washington and sell it to local mills and to the world. Their grain ships to their customers by road, highway, freight railroad, and the river system. How can our freight routes support family farmers? See the Washington State Freight Mobility Plan for more.
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WESTERN ORGANIZATION OF RESOURCE COUNCILS
The Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) is a regional network of grassroots community organizations with 10,000 members and 38 local chapters. WORC member organizations are: Dakota Rural Action; the Dakota Resource Council; the Northern Plains Resource Council; Oregon Rural Action; the Powder River Basin Resource Council; and the Western Colorado Congress. WORC’s mission is to advance the vision of a democratic, sustainable, and just society through community action. WORC is committed to building sustainable environmental and economic communities that balance economic growth with the health of people and stewardship of their land, water, and air resources.
Missouri DOT outlines the strategy to combine and improve multimodal freight infrastructure in Missouri.
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STRATEGIC HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM 2
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
The nation’s freight shippers, receivers, and carriers depend on transportation agencies to provide new highway capacity to meet the demands of growing domestic commerce and international trade. Yet, the traditional highway planning process has not broadly engaged these freight stakeholders in the planning process. As state departments of transportation (DOT) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) make efforts to improve the quality of their interaction with the freight community, SHRP 2 C15, Integrating Freight Considerations in Additions to the Highway Capacity Planning Process, offers timely guidance and best practices examples.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
The Panel on 21st Century Freight Transportation conducted hearings, held roundtable discussions, and traveled
to key freight corridors across the United States to gain insight into the current state of freight transportation and
how improving freight transportation can strengthen the economy. The Panel identified many challenges and
impediments to the efficient and safe movement of goods into, out of, and through the United States.
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
One of the lessons from the Great Recession is the need to grow and support the tradable sectors, typically manufacturing and high-end services, of our metropolitan economies. But to drive these tradable sectors, metropolitan areas need physical access to markets. Metropolitan freight connectivity enables this access and the ensuing modern global value chains. Without it, trade cannot occur.
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