The research described in this report, Development Of A Method To Forecast Freight Demand Arising From The Final Demand Sector, describes a framework and a research approach to achieve insight into significant components of freight transportation in Alabama and the U.S.  The initial objective was to develop the ability to projecting freight traffic arising from  Read more »

The use of national freight data at the local level is challenging due to the high level of aggregation and because freight data is proprietary.  Many national freight databases aggregate information to the individual states or major communities.  Most methods of utilizing freight data depend on applying proxy factors to allocate the freight to the  Read more »

The use of local freight data in transportation planning is essential to ensure accuracy in the travel demand modeling process. However, unlike passenger transportation, where extensive research work has been performed into the collection and use of household travel data, limited research work has been performed to collect and use local freight travel data. This  Read more »

The ability to plan and forecast freight demand to support transportation infrastructure investment decisions is limited by the lack of available data at a level of detail that is meaningful to the transportation planner.  This paper develops an initial methodology for developing Freight Analysis Zones (FAZs) at a sub-state level to facilitate use of the  Read more »

This paper presents a modular approach for rapidly developing simulation models that can analyze and evaluate existing port operations, changes and expansions. Simulation is an inexpensive insurance against costly mistakes involving capital expenditures, but many managers still perceive simulation to be a costly and time consuming option. The underlying purpose of this research has been  Read more »

Review research discussing successful implementation of Lean Enterprise in seaport operations with cited examples from Port of Mobile, Alabama.

This paper presents the application of simulation to determine the inspection resources needed to minimize disruption resulting from increased security inspection of containers at an intermodal terminal. The initial simulation run intentionally started with a large number of resources. Additional simulation runs were made with a continual reduction of inspection resources until entity throughput at  Read more »

The use of simulation in evaluating the impact of productivity improvement activities at the McDuffie Coal Terminal located at the Alabama State Docks in Mobile, Alabama, is discussed. Simulations are being employed for port and terminal operations at an increasing rate because of the value derived as decision support tools. A description of the productivity  Read more »

Transportation infrastructure is an integral piece of the economic growth puzzle.  The proper alignment of needed infrastructure with economic opportunity enhances the return on investment from that infrastructure investment.  Decision tools to assist in this alignment activity are not readily available.  The development of a transportation model that accurately shows the current state of Alabama’s  Read more »