CALL FOR PAPERS
Innovations in Freight Demand Modeling and Data
A Transportation Research Board SHRP 2 Symposium

September 14–15, 2010, Crowne Plaza Hotel—Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C.

Organized by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Second Strategic Highway Research Program

This symposium is intended to unearth effective freight demand models that are supported by robust theory, well-developed computational methods, freight-data sources, and practical visualization techniques for communicating results. The participants will examine, evaluate, and promote innovative and promising advances in freight demand modeling, data collection, and freight-forecasting research methods. This is an integral part of the SHRP 2 project C20, which is fostering fresh ideas and new approaches in freight demand modeling and associated data.
 
Freight traffic has been growing at a rate faster than passenger traffic. Freight bottlenecks are evident in all modes of transportation and have international implications. Freight has become a major issue for state and metropolitan transportation planners because freight forecasting models lag behind travel demand models. Understanding and being able to forecast freight traffic is a critical input to planning for future highway capacity. The ability to forecast freight traffic is understood to be in a primitive and fragmented state.

Freight demand modeling is more dynamic and heterogeneous than passenger demand modeling. There is considerable and complex interaction between international and domestic flows, public and private interests, and logistics behavior. New forecasting and data-collection approaches are needed to capture the variety in public policy, shifting economic geographies, independent multimodal options, business issues, carriers, shippers, commodities, and receivers that exist in the freight world.

The symposium is also a competition, in that selected models and research will be presented and discussed. The models presented will be judged on a variety of dimensions, such as methodology, practicality, ease of use, clarity of purpose, research value, and results.  A panel of experts—representing transportation modes, public and private sectors, geographies (international and domestic), technology, and analytical techniques—will judge the competition.

The winner will receive a prize of $1,000.

In addition, one of the primary outcomes of the conference is to design an ongoing and recurring competitive “Freight Demand Modeling Innovation Program” to further the science of freight demand modeling and forecasting. During the course of the symposium, participants will be asked to provide input and feedback to assist in designing such a program, including identifying priority research recommendations. This will further the research work from previous conferences regarding freight modeling and data improvements.

Planners and modeling practitioners are encouraged to submit short papers (3–5 pages) on a wide range of topics related to freight demand modeling by July 15, 2010, to [log in to unmask].

The authors will be notified regarding the selection of their abstracts by July 30, 2010. If selected, a formal paper will not be required, only a presentation (PowerPoint or presentation outline) will be due by August 30, 2010, followed by full presentation at the conference.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

Models & Forecasting

•   Commodity Flow/Goods Movement/Classifications
•   Logistics and Supply Chains
•   Geographic Level

o   Regional /Metropolitan
o   Statewide
o   Urban
o   Rural

•   Temporal & Seasonal Variations
•   Modal Selection/Diversions

Data Collection, Quality, and Validation

•   Counts and Conversions
•   Public and Private Sources
•   Applications and Tools
•   Variations in Geographic Needs
•   Origin-Destination Methodologies
•   Continuous, Real-Time Data
•   Data Sampling Techniques
•   Commodity versus Vehicle/Container Data

Energy & Environment

•   Fuel Consumption & Energy
•   Investment Strategies
•   Pinch-Point/Congestion Mitigation
•   Land Use Impacts—Local and Metropolitan

Freight Economics

•   Benefit-Cost and Return-on-Investment Analysis
•   Global Trade Forecasting
•   Microsimulation and Econometric Model Use
•   Freight-Logistics Decision Process

Private-Public Collaboration

•   Application of Technology
•   Data Sharing
•   Finance and Funding Models
•   Location/Choice Development
•   Multicriteria Decision Making
•   Project Development

Transportation Program Development

•   Program Evaluation
•   Project Identification
•   Investment Analysis and Benefit/Cost
•   Asset Management
•   Decision-Analysis Frameworks
•   Applied Performance Measures

 

 

http://www.trb.org/StrategicHighwayResearchProgram2SHRP2/Public/Pages/CALL_FOR_PAPERS_on_Innovations_in_Freight_Demand_Modeling_and_Data_413.aspx