Assessing the Capacity of the Pacific Northwest As an Intermodal Freight Transportation Hub
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ASSESSING THE CAPACITY OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AS AN INTERMODAL FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION HUB FINAL PROJECT REPORT by Hector A. Vergara (Principal Investigator) Mohammad Ghane-Ezabadi Mehrdad Rahanjam Oregon State University Sponsorship PacTrans and Oregon State University for Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans) USDOT University Transportation Center for Federal Region 10 University of Washington More Hall 112, Box 352700 Seattle, WA 98195-2700 In cooperation with U.S. Department of Transportation-Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) Disclaimer The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Centers Program, in the interest of information exchange. The Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium, the U.S. Government and matching sponsor assume no liability for the contents or use thereof. i Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. 2013-S-OSU-0036 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Assessing the Capacity of the Pacific Northwest as an Intermodal Freight 8/31/2015 Transportation Hub 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Hector A. Vergara (PI), Mohammad Ghane-Ezabadi, Mehrdad Rahanjam 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) PacTrans Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium 11. Contract or Grant No. University Transportation Center for Region 10 DTRT12-UTC10 University of Washington More Hall 112 Seattle, WA 98195-2700 12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered United States of America Research July 1, 2013 – August 31, 2015 Department of Transportation 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Research and Innovative Technology Administration 15. Supplementary Notes Report uploaded at www.pacTrans.org 16. Abstract This project synthesizes information from multiple sources about the capacity of the Pacific Northwest region to handle intermodal freight transportation demand. The findings from this research are intended to be used as a framework to start a research program focusing on the planning decision making needs of stakeholders in the region. The major sources of information about intermodal capacity were published reports from different stakeholders, online resources, and information obtained through conversations with a small set of stakeholders. Information about the current and future demand for intermodal freight transportation in the region was obtained from the FAF3 database of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and complemented by information available in published reports. The analysis of the current and future gap between capacity and demand for intermodal freight transportation was completed using the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) approach to develop a more complete understanding of the factors affecting the development and expansion of intermodal freight transportation in the region. Although the accuracy of the quantitative data cannot be considered very high, general trends can be analyzed. Most of the intermodal freight flow in the region is containerized cargo that visits the main marine ports: Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma, and at a smaller scale Port of Portland. Other port terminals that are able to handle intermodal freight flow exist in the region but represent a small portion of the total flow. Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway and Union Pacific (UP) Railroad have dedicated intermodal terminals in the region providing service for truck-road intermodal transportation, and rail connectivity to marine ports is also available. An analysis of the difference between intermodal capacity and demand at an aggregate level indicates that the current infrastructure is able to handle the existing demand for containerized international freight flow in the region. However, different scenarios of demand growth show that if capacity expansion does not occur, the existing capacity will not be sufficient to satisfy the demand in the future. Main factors affecting the perception of stakeholders about the level of service and future expansion of intermodal freight transportation in the region include highway congestion in the major metropolitan areas, lack of other generators and receivers of intermodal freight flow, coordination between different stakeholders, and limited availability of ocean carriers providing service to the Port of Portland. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement intermodal transportation; demand estimation; capacity assessment; gap analysis No restrictions. 19. Security Classification (of this 20. Security Classification (of this 21. No. of Pages 22. Price report) page) Unclassified. Unclassified. NA Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements vii Executive Summary ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Objective ................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Approach ................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................... 5 2.1 Intermodal Freight Transportation ............................................................................ 5 2.2 Freight Transportation Demand Estimation and Capacity Assessment .................. 11 2.3 Gap Analysis ........................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER 3 INTERMODAL FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION DEMAND ESTIMATION ... 21 3.1 Demand Estimation Method ................................................................................... 21 3.1.1 Demand Estimation Quantitative Information Sources ....................................... 21 3.1.2 Demand Estimation Descriptive Information Sources ........................................ 24 3.2 Intermodal Freight Transportation Data ................................................................. 25 CHAPTER 4 INTERMODAL FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY ASSESSMENT 37 4.1 Capacity Assessment Method ................................................................................. 37 4.2 Intermodal Freight Transportation Capacity Data .................................................. 38 4.2.1 Rail ....................................................................................................................... 42 4.2.2 Waterway (Marine) .............................................................................................. 49 4.2.3 Aviation................................................................................................................ 49 4.2.4 Road ..................................................................................................................... 54 4.2.5 Additional Information ........................................................................................ 56 4.3 Intermodal Freight Transportation Capacity Questionnaire ................................... 57 CHAPTER 5 GAP ANALYSIS ................................................................................ 59 5.1 Comparison of Intermodal Transportation Demand and Capacity ......................... 59 5.2 SWOT Analysis ...................................................................................................... 65 5.2.1 Opportunities-Strengths ....................................................................................... 67 5.2.2 Opportunities-Weaknesses ................................................................................... 69 3 5.2.3 Threats-Strengths ................................................................................................. 71 5.2.4 Threats-Weaknesses ............................................................................................. 71 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................ 73 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 77 4 List of Figures Figure 2.1 Shipping containers transported by train providing intermodal service [6] 6 Figure 2.2 Crane loading a trailer onto a flatcar at an intermodal facility [6] 6 Figure 2.3 IANA’s interactive “Intermodal Facilities Directory” [5] 7 Figure 2.4 Intermodal rail networks for BNSF and UP [5] 8 Figure 2.5 Template SWOT matrix 19 Figure 3.1 Total freight flow in the Pacific Northwest by mode in 2007 (weight percentage) 26 Figure 3.2 Total freight flow in Washington by mode in 2007 (weight percentage) 27 Figure 3.3 Total freight flow in Oregon by Mode in 2007 (weight percentage) 28 Figure 3.4 Total freight flow in Idaho by mode in 2007 (weight percentage) 28 Figure 3.5 Total freight flow in Alaska by Mode in 2007 (weight percentage) 29 Figure 3.6 Weight fraction of the total freight flow in the Pacific Northwest for each state (2007) 32 Figure 3.7 Weight fraction of intermodal freight flow in the Pacific Northwest for each state (2007) 32 Figure 3.8 Weight fraction of the total freight flow in the Pacific Northwest for each state (2040) 33 Figure 3.9 Weight fraction of intermodal freight flow in the Pacific Northwest