Fast-Forward: Key Issues in Modernizing the

Efficient movement of freight within the United States and across its borders is a critical enabler of future U.S. economic growth and competitiveness. Such efficiency is now threatened by capacity bottlenecks, inefficient use of some components of the freight infrastructure, interference with passenger transport, the system's vulnerability to disruption, and the need to address important emission and energy constraints. In this volume, the authors provide a broad overview of U.S. freight transportation, discuss its role in the supply chains of various types of businesses, and provide data about its capacity in relation to demand for goods movement. They conclude with a discussion of the need to modernize the freight-transportation system and the overarching issues this involves: increasing capacity through operational improvements and infrastructure enhancement, making the system more adaptable and less vulnerable to disruption, addressing the energy and environmental concerns associated with freight transportation, and building support for public and private investment in the system. Book jacket.

Preface	p. iii
Figures	p. xi
Tables	p. xv
Summary	p. xvii
Acknowledgments	p. xxxiii
Abbreviations	p. xxxv
Introduction	p. 1
Freight-Transportation Issues	p. 1
The Questions We Addressed	p. 13
Approach and Interview Summary	p. 15
Literature Review	p. 15
Stakeholder Interviews1	p. 5
Meta-Analysis of Existing Studies	p. 20
Evolution and State of the U.S. Freight-Transportation System	p. 23
Most Freight Movement Is Domestic	p. 24
Most Freight Is Moved by Truck	p. 24
Freight Ton-Miles Are Distributed Nearly Equally on Railways and Highways	p. 27
The Ton-Miles Associated with Both Truck and Rail Have Shown Substantial Growth Recently	p. 28
Bulk Commodities Make Up Most Goods Movement in Terms of Ton-Miles	p. 29
Major Systems and Industries Make Up the U.S. Freight-Transportation Infrastructure	p. 30
Freight Trucking and Highways	p. 30
Rail and Rail Operations	p. 33
Ports, Port Operations, and Sea Shipping	p. 37
Intermodal Freight Shipments	p. 43
Information Systems Play a Vital Role in Long-Distance Freight Transportation	p. 44
International Freight Volumes	p. 45
Social Effects of Freight Transportation	p. 50
Economic Effects	p. 51
Environmental Effects	p. 52
Energy Use and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions	p. 53
Safety	p. 54
Congestion	p. 56
Determinants of Highway, Rail, and Port Capacity	p. 59
Recent Economic Slowdown	p. 60
There Are Many Other Determinants of Capacity and Demand	p. 61
Highway Freight Capacity	p. 61
Rail-Freight Capacity	p. 71
Port Capacity	p. 77
Reducing Local Effects with Operational Adjustments	p. 79
Port and Terminal Productivity Measuresv79
Overarching Issues for Improving Freight Transportation and Implications for Policy	p. 85
Identifying the Key Issues	p. 85
Four Key Issues for the U.S. Freight-Transportation System and Related Policy Implications	p. 86
Increasing the Capacity of the U.S. National and International Freight Systems Through Operational Improvements and Selective Infrastructure Enhancement	p. 86
Creating an Adaptable, Less Vulnerable, and More ResilientFreight-Transportation System	p. 96
Addressing the Energy and Environmental Issues Associated with Freight Transportation	p. 99
Making the Case for Public and Private Investment in Freight-Transportation Infrastructure and for Establishing Sustainable Priorities for Funding	p. 101
Final Comment	p. 107
Bibliography	p. 109
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Fast-Forward: Key Issues in Modernizing the U.S. Freight-Transportation System for Future Economic Growth

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