CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDIES Illinois Center for Transportation Series No. 20-021 UILU-ENG-2020-2021 ISSN: 0197-9191 Maritime Freight Data Collection Systems and Database to Support Performance Measures and Market Analyses Prepared By P.S. Sriraj Bo Zou Lise Dirks Nahid Parvez Farazi Elliott Lewis Jean Paul Manzanarez University of Illinois at Chicago Research Report No. FHWA-ICT-20-014 A report of the findings of ICT PROJECT R27-192 Maritime Freight Data Collection System & Database to Support Performance Measures & Market Analyses https://doi.org/10.36501/0197-9191/20-021 Illinois Center for Transportation December 2020 TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. FHWA-ICT-20-014 N/A N/A 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Maritime Freight Data Collection Systems and Database to Support Performance December 2020 Measures and Market Analyses 6. Performing Organization Code N/A 7. Authors 8. Performing Organization Report No. P.S. Sriraj (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0013-205X), Bo Zou ICT-20-021 (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4485-5548), Lise Dirks (https://orcid.org/0000-0002- UILU-2020-2021 8964-1802), Nahid Parvez Farazi (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7893-2321), Elliott Lewis, and Jean Paul Manzanarez 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. Illinois Center for Transportation N/A Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 11. Contract or Grant No. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign R27-192 205 North Mathews Avenue, MC-250 Urbana, IL 61801 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Illinois Department of Transportation (SPR) Final Report 5/16/18–12/15/20 Bureau of Research 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 126 East Ash Street Springfield, IL 62704 15. Supplementary Notes Conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. https://doi.org/10.36501/0197-9191/20-021 16. Abstract The Illinois Marine Transportation System (IMTS) is a key component of the nation’s inland waterway system. IMTS is comprised of 27 locks and dams, 19 port districts, more than 350 active terminals, and 1,118 miles of navigable inland waterways traversing along the borderline or within the state of Illinois. However, the infrastructure of IMTS is aging and its conditions are deteriorating. To monitor the performance of IMTS and guide infrastructure investment to enhance safety, efficiency, and reliability of the system, a comprehensive performance measurement program is needed. To this end, the objective of this project is to create an integrated, comprehensive, and maintainable database that facilitates performance measurement of maritime freight to, from, and through Illinois. To achieve this objective, a review of the literature on maritime freight transportation both in the United States and abroad was performed. To gauge practitioners’ points of view, a series of phone interviews and online surveys of Illinois’ neighboring state DOT officials, officials from the US Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois port district authorities, and carriers operating in Illinois was also conducted. With the findings from the literature review and an understanding of state DOT practices, the needed and available data sources for a maritime freight performance measurement program were identified. Building on all the above efforts, a first-of-its-kind PM database for IMTS was designed and developed, along with a detailed user manual, ready for IDOT’s immediate use and future updates. In addition, opportunities for IDOT to use the database to conduct analysis are discussed. Key programmatic recommendations that outline the role of IDOT as a champion and as a facilitator are further included. The outcome of this project will help IDOT gain much-needed knowledge of and develop programs to improve IMTS performance, increase multimodal transportation network capacity, and expand the transportation and logistics sector of the state, which ultimately benefit the people and economy of Illinois. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Performance Measures, Illinois Marine Transportation System, No restrictions. This document is available through the Database, Stakeholder Interview, US Army Corps of Engineers National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161. 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 69 + appendices N/A Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized ACKNOWLEDGMENT, DISCLAIMER, MANUFACTURERS’ NAMES This publication is based on the results of ICT-R27-192: Maritime Freight Data Collection System & Database to Support Performance Measures & Market Analyses. ICT-R27-192 was conducted in cooperation with the Illinois Center for Transportation; the Illinois Department of Transportation; and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Members of the Technical Review Panel (TRP) were the following: • BJ Murray, TRP Chair, Illinois Department of Transportation • Clayton Stambaugh, TRP Co-chair, Illinois Department of Transportation • James Durako, Illinois Department of Transportation • Megan Swanson, Illinois Department of Transportation • Betsy Tracy, Federal Highway Administration The contents of this report reflect the view of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Illinois Center for Transportation, the Illinois Department of Transportation, or the Federal Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Trademark or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the object of this document and do not constitute an endorsement of product by the Federal Highway Administration, the Illinois Department of Transportation, or the Illinois Center for Transportation. i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Illinois Marine Transportation System (IMTS) is a key component of the nation’s inland waterway system. IMTS is comprised of 27 locks and dams, 19 port districts, more than 350 active terminals, and 1,118 miles of navigable inland waterways traversing along the borderline or within the state of Illinois. This vast system of ports, navigable waterways, the Great Lakes, and intermodal landside infrastructure allows freight transportation to, from, and on water. It is therefore vital to maintain, enhance, and expand the system to support the continuous growth of goods movements to, from, and around the state; the leadership position that Illinois has long held in freight handling in the nation; and the economy of the state at large. The infrastructure of IMTS, however, is aging and its conditions are deteriorating. According to the ASCE 2017 infrastructure rating, inland waterways in the state are graded as “D-” and port facilities are graded as “C-”. Across the nation, nearly half of the vessels experience delays when going through locks and dams as a result of deteriorating infrastructure conditions, costing the national inland waterway system $33 billion in 2010, which was projected to increase to $49 billion by 2020. Illinois is not an exception. To monitor and guide infrastructure investment to enhance safety, efficiency, and reliability of the state’s maritime freight transportation system, a comprehensive performance measurement program is much needed. A carefully devised set of performance measures (PMs) is a critical prerequisite for establishing such a comprehensive freight performance measurement program. In view of this, the primary objective of this Illinois Center for Transportation project is to create an integrated, comprehensive, and maintainable database that enables performance measurement of maritime freight to, from, and through Illinois. To achieve this objective, a review of the literature on maritime freight transportation both in the United States and abroad was performed. A list of available PMs was developed to facilitate the development of a performance measurement program for maritime freight transportation. To gauge practitioners’ points of view, a series of phone interviews and online surveys of Illinois’ neighboring state DOT officials, officials from the US Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois port district authorities, and carriers operating in Illinois was also conducted. Results from the interviews and survey yield in-depth understanding of the PM status for maritime freight in the US midwestern region, as well as issues the stakeholders are currently facing. Armed with the findings from the literature review and an understanding of other state DOT practices, the necessary and available data sources for a maritime freight performance measurement program were identified. Following this effort, a first-of-its-kind PM database for the Illinois maritime freight transportation was designed and developed, along with a detailed user manual, ready for IDOT’s immediate use and future updates. Opportunities for IDOT to use the database to conduct analysis are further discussed. Several key programmatic recommendations associated with this database, including establishing a data development program, championing additional funding for IMTS, and growing relationships between port districts and private operators, are also included as part of this report. The outcome of this project is expected to help IDOT gain much-needed knowledge about