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The Practical Corridor Supply Chain: A Multi-Modal Case Study Assessment

Jeremy Sage, Corresponding AuthorUniversity of Montana32 Campus Dr #1234Missoula, MT 59812Tel: 406-243-5552; Email: jeremy.sage@umontana.edu

Ken CasavantFreight Policy Transportation InstituteWashington State UniversityPO Box 646210, Pullman, WA 99164Tel: 509-335-1608; Email: casavantk@wsu.edu

You ZhouSchool of Economic SciencesWashington State UniversityPO Box 646210, Pullman, WA 99164Tel: 509-335-8489; Email: you.zhou@wsu.edu

Word count: 7,247 + 1 Table (250 words) = 7,497

Submission date: July 31, 2016

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ABSTRACTSignificant gaps in knowledge often persist as to the quantity and diversity of products, their value, and supply chain characteristics of commodities moving on intrastate freight corridors. Available national level data may readily denote origin and final destination but does not easily identify the finer path, especially when movements are multimodal. These gaps constrain system managers’ ability to fully account for the costs and benefits of corridor investment and to positively affect multimodal connectivity. Constraints such as these ultimately impact the efficiency by which local and regional commerce operates by restricting the ability to identify appropriate multi-modal connections. This study establishes a consistent framework by which freight economic corridors may be conceptualized and evaluated on a level applicable to the state agency. Using the full extent of US-95 in Idaho, a watershed approach to corridor analysis is implemented through the assessment of the upstream and downstream connectivity of the corridor across modes. Resulting from this approach is an enhancement of capacity for managing agencies to better prioritize infrastructure investment under the guise of a complete supply chain corridor.

Keywords: Freight, Supply Chain, Corridor, Idaho

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INTRODUCTIONTransportation researchers have widely used corridor-based studies in recent decades to inform infrastructure investment decisions and help agencies to meet regional, state, even national travel needs (1). Corridor studies typically focus on identifying specific corridor needs, present and anticipated, and evaluate alternatives to solve the problems. For example, the city of Post Falls, Idaho conducted a study of the State Highway 41 (SH 41) corridor to analyze the impact of rapid population growth on land use and traffic (2). Decision makers used this information to identify highway management and improvement strategies for not only current traffic pressures, but also for future transportation generation and distribution.

While many corridor based studies, such as SH 41, have a more narrow focus with a localized context, states recognize the importance of conducting larger-scale corridor studies. Transportation, particularly freight transportation, plays a broad role in regional economics and performance. This role places an increasing need to examine the corridor at a scale that accounts for the supply chain connectivity of goods moving within the corridor area, not just on a segment of the corridor. Recognizing the need for state and regional studies, the TRB released the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 661: A Guidebook for Corridor-Based Statewide Transportation Planning in 2010 (3). The report contributes to effective statewide planning via a modal relationship understanding of transportation system performance. Statewide Corridor Planning is a departure from a systems-wide or project-based approach, and seeks to place an emphasis on corridors of statewide or regional significance. The report lays out a five step process:

1. Establish organizing principles and institutional structure;2. Establish a corridor network; 3. Identify study corridors;4. Conduct corridor studies;5. Identify statewide investment program.

This study uses principles 1-4 of NCHRP-661 as a basis for structure and organization, to uncover a supply chain based corridor process of significant utility to Idaho planning.

Identifying Commodity FlowsCommodity flow may be represented by parameters directly relating to a corridor’s economic performance. The useful information obtained from most commodity flows, include: commodity group type, origination-destination, route choice, volume, value, and multimodal connectivity (4). In aggregation, these attributes demonstrate the economic role of the corridor in integrating business centers and facilitating economic activities. Under the highly integrated freight transportation system, a highway should hardly be viewed in isolation (5). Case in point, US 95 directly connects to other modes including the Port of Lewiston, several regional and international airports, and rail lines within Idaho. Doubtless, the entire image of US 95 should include multimodal components such as the accessibility of multimodal facilities, capacity of multimodal facilities, and percent of multimodal freight traveled on the highway.

Adequate data collection and supplementary information to describe economic activities is vital for the assessment of commodity flows or supply chains within a given corridor. National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) Report 26 Guidebook for Developing Subnational Commodity Flow Data, provides four options for gathering such data (6). These

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include: Establishment Surveys, Roadside Truck Surveys, Supplemental Economic Activity, and Disaggregation.

Each method has its merits and circumstances for appropriate use. Any one or combination of data collection techniques may be used by a transportation manager for future corridor studies. The selected method of choice depends on the nature of the investigation, the data deemed necessary (and the ability to generate or assemble such data), as well as the time, financial, and personnel resources available.

This study relied primarily on supplemental sources of local economic activity with additional information collected from identified primary freight generating firms. Through a review of supplemental economic data as well as discussions with local economic development agencies, we identified and interviewed major freight generators throughout the corridor. Since this corridor essentially connects all modes of freight travel, the efficiency of freight movement is evaluated within a multi-modal context. Consequently, strategic improvement and investment can be identified in subsequent freight plans.

Implementing Practical DesignReliance on volume only approaches leaves gaps in knowledge about the quantity and diversity of products, their value, and supply chain characteristics of commodities moving on specific freight corridors. These gaps constrain an agency’s ability to fully account for the costs and benefits of freight corridor investment and to positively affect freight multimodal connectivity. Ultimately, by not adequately identifying appropriate multi-modal connections and investments, the efficiency of local and regional commerce is impacted.

To strategically address this issue, we adapt the concepts of Practical Design and Least Cost Planning to supply chain or commodity based movements. In a transportation context, Practical Design is a process by which planning and operations decisions and projects are evaluated based on identified need and potential for cost effective solutions (7). Least Cost Planning complements Practical Design by considering a variety of solutions to address system performance at least cost (8). Practical Design and Least Cost Planning strategies may also be described as the deployment of “right-sized” projects that meet need and avoid unnecessary or unproductive elements that may increase a facility’s operational level without producing desired industry response. This paper is organized using the steps identified in NCHRP Report 661, including any necessary deviations, to generate a practical planning process.

ESTABLISH ORGNAZING PRINCIPLESAny given corridor is not an independent entity, nor does it serve a single function. Many planning activities within a corridor occur concurrently and in relation to other corridors or state interests. Therefore, coordinating with other investments, actions, or management strategies is critical for achieving statewide transportation goals. The recently commissioned Idaho Statewide Freight Study gathered high level comprehensive information from key freight stakeholders and identified three general goals (9):

Strategic investments in resources and capacity; Seamless and safe multi-modal connections; and Effective partnerships.

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These goals coincide with Idaho’s Strategic Plan, and aim to improve transportation safety, enhance mobility and support Idaho’s economy. Moreover, the following criteria are listed in the freight study to test the success of above objectives:

Idaho goods transported effectively; Freight transportation costs are competitive; and Freight-related safety is improved.

Benefit of a Supply Chain Based Practical Design EffortApplying a supply chain approach mimics a systems based approach in which the entirety of the supply chain is placed in context of the project outcomes. For instance, if the supply chain for moving sugar beets from field to piles to factory is significantly impacted by the roadway network’s ability to accommodate 129,000 pound vehicles, then it makes little sense for an agency to institute the higher limits on network segments while not doing so on others. By the same token, an industry has little incentive to maximize the loading efficiencies of its trucks if it is not able to do so throughout the extent of its trip from origin to destination. The results of taking a supply chain approach should be tangible to the major generators or receivers of freight within a traveling corridor and may be expressed in terms of reduced operating costs, improved safety and connectivity, and asset utilization.

Volume based depictions of network utilization, and thus its importance, are one of the easiest to identify and visually portray to an outcome oriented audience. Such depictions may be made at the national, state, or local level. Multiple data streams routinely collect and display such information based on onsite roadway counters or survey efforts. Freight Analysis Framework (FAF3; version 3.0 was release in 2011) is an excellent example of such a volume based effort which estimates commodity movements and roadway volumes between origin and destination zones by assigning tonnage to network segments. While the data and information produced from the FAF3 provide valuable and statistically significant insight at the level of the analysis zone or greater (i.e. all of Idaho), difficulties arise when attempting to breakdown, disaggregate, a statewide analysis zone into sub-regions or at the specific corridor level. In other words, FAF3 is not a substitute for local data and understanding.

To strategically address the issue of volume alone based approaches, we adapt the concepts of Practical Design and Least Cost Planning to supply chain or commodity based movements. A major component in many applications of this strategy is a collaborative effort that allows for the consideration of stakeholder values and the recognition of the potential benefit experienced by the stakeholder.

The goals of a practical design strategy are to maximize the results while limiting the necessary funding. In the context of supply chains, this involves the identification of projects or operational adjustments that enable gains in efficiency of operation, thus promoting a better use of transportation facilities by the major stakeholders within a corridor. Identification is achieved through an assessment of the available data as well as an active and early engagement with stakeholders. With the appropriate data and an engaged stakeholder base, the agency may be better able to make informed investment decisions that create efficient solutions without compromising safety.

Identifying Relevant Network Data

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Identifying metrics, roadway and user attributes, that address how efficiently a transportation system is functioning is key for knowing what data to include when considering the impact of transportation projects on the supply chain operations of freight generating industries. Metrics that are indicators of efficient operations include:

First and last mile access; Least cost route utilization; Intermodal connectivity; Minimization of non-productive time in transit; Minimization of wear and tear; Increased safety throughout transit.

Data elements already available, or readily made available, to an agency frequently include those directly related to the trucks’ dimensions as it relates to roadway condition and attributes. Such data represents the corridor’s influence on the operating cost of the trucks by means of affecting the ability to utilize the least cost route, access other modes, reduce wasted time in transit, and others from the list above. The following list highlights the major roadway attributes of consideration.

Length CombinationsLegal length combinations and those allowable by permit throughout an industry’s major operating corridor directly affect the efficient operation of the industry’s freight transport. Along with weight and width, allowable length determines the carrying capacity of a truckload and thus the number of trucks necessary for a given product volume.

Route CapacityThe second major factor influencing the efficient operation of a truckload for any given freight good is the allowable weight within all transport segments. This is especially true for products that may weigh out heavy before they become too large in height, width, or length (i.e. cube out). Most agencies provide statewide data for route capacities on their roadways. Limited weight capacity segments become critical considerations where evaluating freight movement efficiencies on a supply chain level. Truck loading is necessarily constrained by the most restrictive segment within its route or potential routes. Overly restrictive segments create competitive disadvantages for firms who may otherwise be able to more efficiently load their trucks.

BridgesNationwide, the structural integrity of highway bridges has become of significant concern as several have collapsed and more have been identified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Because they are major links in the truck transportation system, bridges pose serious liabilities to efficient freight movement if they become significantly weight limited. Given the low roadway density in many locations in states like Idaho, a weight restricted bridge may generate significant routing problems for users.

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Pavement ConditionsRoadways maintained by transportation agencies are routinely rated on three primary characteristics: Cracking, Roughness, and Rutting Depth. Each of the three contributes to the quality of the roadway. Poor pavement condition plays at least two important roles in the consideration of freight movement. First, poor or rough roadways increase the wear and tear on vehicles, thus increasing the operating costs of the vehicles. Second some highly fragile products run an increased risk of damage or excessive bruising when traveling considerable miles on rough roadways.

Safety/Collisions Involving TrucksAccording to reports from the Idaho Office of Highway Safety, there were 1,613 total crashes in Idaho in 2014 involving commercial vehicles. Of these incidents, 539 were classified as injury accidents and 22 involved at least one fatality. While the fatality number is a 33 percent reduction over 2013 fatality accidents, it is still well above the 14 observed in 2010 and 2012. Of the 22 fatal accidents, the majority (68.2 percent) occurred on rural or urban segments US or State Highways, with most of those (13 of 15) being on rural segments. In terms of all crashes involving commercial vehicles, U.S. and State Highways accounted for 32 percent.

Slow Speed ConstraintsA final consideration in the identification of roadway attributes that impact the efficient use of the corridor’s roadway components is the ability of trucks to reliably navigate the roadway at efficient speeds. While several roadway attributes, notably inclines, may inhibit truck ability to travel at posted speed limits, most can be reliably anticipated as they generate a consistent restriction to truck speed.

Identifying Freight Dependent IndustriesThe search for understanding of commodity flows throughout the nation’s freight corridors is a continual process. This understanding is critical at many levels of the transportation industry and to those firms and entities that provide transportation, or regulate and invest in the needed infrastructure. As previously described, these data sets, usually desired at the sub-national level, are essential to adequate planning by state, regional, and local levels as attempts continue to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of the transportation system. Determining the importance of a commodity flow at a corridor level will help to prioritize investments in infrastructure and to assess the quantitative impacts of congestion, regulation, and bottlenecks on a transportation system or supply chain. To best characterize commodity flows, planners should be provided with a categorical set of industries from which to consider the potential impact of change. We classify such industries as being freight dependent.

Freight dependent industries may be considered as those industries whose major operations are dependent upon the effective and efficient utilization of the freight system to collect and distribute their inputs and final products. Such industries may be aggregated into seven major categories:

Agriculture and Forestry; Utilities; Manufacturing;

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Construction; Retail Trade; Wholesale Trade; Transportation and Warehousing.

These industry groups contribute the majority of truck traffic trips generated within a region. Trips fall into either originations within a region, terminations, or pass through.

CORRIDOR EVALUATION IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGYAs the recognition that subnational commodity flows are increasingly vital to the performance evaluation of infrastructure investment and project prioritization, effective and replicable methods are needed to systematically collect and compare management options. Such need arises as nationally available data, such as the Commodity Flow Survey (CFS), for rural states like Idaho often provide statewide values that may be of little utility for a specific corridor.

As previously identified, multiple methods exist to obtain such information. The method used is dependent upon the scale and scope of consideration, as well as the financial, time and personnel resources available. This paper used supplemental sources of economic activity augmented by select establishment-based interviews.

Applying Supplemental Data CollectionA simple set of repeatable steps may be applied when using supplemental sources of economic activity to perform a corridor based commodity study. Using NCHRP Report 26 as a guide, we apply the following steps in order: determine industries or commodities of interest; assemble data on local economic and goods movement activity; estimate missing data.

Industries and Commodities of Special InterestFamiliarity with the region is perhaps the most straight forward method to begin assimilating a set of industries or commodities of special interest. Key actors within the region’s economic network should be consulted to assist with the interview process if there is not personal or agency awareness of major freight generators within a region. Such personnel may often be found within the region’s economic development agencies and transportation department district offices. Three such agencies were utilized for this study, and they ultimately formed the basis for the regional breakout of the corridor. Not only do these agencies work closely with the businesses in their region to expand opportunity through the development of economic strategies, but they also have insight to major freight generators in their area.

From discussions with personnel in this study, a major focus of freight generation became apparent for each region. Based on the data from County Business Patterns in 2013, each region’s freight generating firms are largely dominated by retail industries and construction based firms. While important, these firms rarely rise to the level of special interest in a commodity flow or corridor study, as their movement is relatively standard from area to area. Within more rural corridors, as is found in much of US-95, the special interest industries may frequently be those that are resource dependent and contribute to significant and dispersed movement about the region. In addition to dispersed movement, such industries frequently have the opportunity to butt up against length and weight restrictions on some segment of their supply chains. Additionally, segments of these industries are frequently utilizing multiple modes.

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Further, the dispersed nature of resource dependent industries plays into the practical design and least cost planning strategies recommended here. As industries are broad in roadway usage, the identification of limiting links or nodes becomes a significant consideration.

Data AssemblyData may be procured in a variety of forms with varying scale and degree of completeness and relevancy. Generally, at least three segments of data are warranted. The first is roadway conditions which are routinely collected and maintained by the respective transportation agency. The most relevant roadway conditions for freight movement are those that influence route and mode choice and availability, as previously described. The second is industrial makeup. Such data may be obtained from US Census County Business Patterns or Zip Code Business Patterns dependent upon scale of interest. Notably absent from the Census data sets is the number of farms and thus the potential for farm generated truck trips in the corridor. To obtain that information US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Census of Agriculture may be used when considering freight movement in heavy agriculture areas, as is the case for much of the US-95 corridor. The prevalence of agricultural production and diversity may also be generated through the USDA’s Cropland Data layer (CropScape), which provides detailed satellite imagery allowing specific, geo-referenced acreage estimates by crop type for major commodities. The third is regional freight movement which can be obtained either from CFS and FAF3 or previous data collected from regional economic studies involving the corridor of interest.

Estimate Missing DataEven with full usage of available local economic data, additional information will still be required. Absent the resources to complete a full establishment survey, a modified version may be used in which stakeholder interviews with key players within the corridor are conducted. Interviews should focus on identifying those unique attributes that are not apparent from otherwise obtainable data. These include identifications of perceived constraints to movement, perceived safety threats, catchment area, and market area.

ESTABLISH, IDENTIFY, AND EVALUATE THE CORRIODR NETWORKEstablishing what defines a corridor is vital for determining the appropriate analyses and metrics. For US-95 in Idaho, one can describe it as a north-south corridor from Oregon to British Columbia through or near urban areas such as Boise, Lewiston, and Coeur d’Alene. This basic geographic definition, however, is of little value in planning and economic relationships.

Although it is usual to understand a corridor as a highway and as a means of transport connectivity, this tends to be too narrow a definition when one considers the broader functions of the highway. A corridor description must make more economic sense through labeling it as a spatial link between two business centers or a backbone for regional integration. Efficient transportation infrastructure and connectivity enhances a region’s economic opportunity, while inefficiencies generated by common maladies like congestion and low safety performance hinder such economic activity.

Corridor Component PartsUS-95 runs nearly the entire length of the western border of Idaho, making it a major connection between Canada to the north and the large population base along I-84 in the south and beyond Idaho. US-95 may be broken into three component regions for purpose of visualization and primary activity generation.

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Panhandle RegionTransportation ComponentsThe Idaho Panhandle corridor segment originates with two Canadian border entries: Port Hill and Eastport. Moving southward, US-95 connects with US-2 moving east into Montana and west into Washington. The primary national freight network connection within the region is I-90 in Coeur d’Alene. This northern segment of the corridor additionally has both the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and BNSF passing through. Both lines enter just north of I-90 on the Washington border, with intermodal connections in the Spokane area, Hauser, and Bonners Ferry. The UP line runs north and exits Idaho near the Eastport Border entry, while the BNSF line follows US-2 into Montana to the east.

Freight Movement and GenerationMuch of the freight dependent industry is focused on the greater Coeur d’Alene area in Kootenai County and to a somewhat lesser degree in Bonner County near Sandpoint. The freight generation is highly centered about retail trade and construction activities. As a border region, significant segments of the freight movement may be attributable to border crossings. According to Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the number of border crossing trucks in Eastport was 63,944 in 2014, of which 48,220 were loaded trucks with containers. The port ranked 15th out of 81 for truck border crossings along the US northern border. At Porthill, which ranked 43rd, 4,913 of the 7,464 trucks that crossed the border were loaded trucks with containers. At Eastport, 119,017 loaded rail car containers also entered, along with 8,443 empty rail containers on a combined 1,389 trains.

In 2014, Eastport had nearly $2.8 billion trade by truck, of which around $1.8 billion are associated with exports to Canada. The top three states trading with Canada by truck through Eastport are Washington (49 percent of total trade), Oregon (21 percent), and California (8 percent) for total trade value. Interestingly, Illinois edges out California for third place for exports, while Washington and Oregon hold their top spots, respectively. Washington remains the top importer through Eastport at 70 percent, with Oregon at 14 percent and Idaho and California garnering just over five percent.

The value of Eastport trade by rail closely matches that of truck at nearly $2.7 billion. Oregon is the leader among states in total trade by rail at Eastport with nearly 34 percent, followed by California at 23 percent and Washington and Idaho at 18 and 13 percent, respectively. Idaho jumps up to second place behind Oregon in rank for export value through Eastport.

In 2014, Porthill contributed $35.2 million of trade by truck, of which around $28.4 million are associated with exports to Canada. The top 3 states trading with Canada by truck through Porthill are Oregon (56 percent of total trade by value), Idaho (22 percent), and Washington (14 percent). The same rank holds in terms of export only to Canada. In terms of imports, nearly all the goods remain in either Idaho (46 percent), or Washington (48 percent).

Identified Constraints to Efficient FlowRecorded volume based data typically shows the significance of the US-95 segment between and within the cities of Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene. What is not apparent from its depiction is the importance of the connectors to and from US-95, I-90, and the Canadian border. We draw from stakeholder interviews within the region to highlight the significance of the region’s connectors and roadway attributes. Interviews focused on the freight dependent industries previously

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identified, with three major themes emerging: 129,000 pound corridor designation, maintenance and expansion of multi-modal opportunities, and seasonal weight restrictions (break-up limits).

129,000 Pound Corridors As of March 2015, no 129,000 pound corridors have been approved in the panhandle region. The possibility of obtaining several opportunities for such corridors, however, was a main consideration among several timber industry respondents. They identified five segments of roadway that could facilitate improved movement for their operations. Roughly a half dozen mills operate) within the region that use US-95, each with a variety of truck movements associated with their operations. Several of the mills could significantly benefit from 129,000 pound capabilities. Benefiting truck movements include raw logs into facilities, lumber exports and residuals moving out of, and between, facilities throughout the panhandle region.

Where 129,000 pound allowances are demonstrated to be warranted, feasible, and practical given other potential constraints (e.g. bridges, length) to effective movement for the given roadways, the corridor’s connectivity may be enhanced to efficiently load trucks. In line with practical design application, such designations should be considered in context with other roadway conditions and attributes that may inhibit a truck(s) from being able to utilize such a designation.

Multi-Modal Opportunities Whenever able, the timber industry frequently makes use of rail loading facilities, which allow broadened market coverage. For example, operating near the state line between Idaho and Washington, the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad leases rail line from BNSF in order to service customers near Newport, ID. Between October of 2013 and September of 2014, the line moved 1,131 carloads of lumber, 213 of bark and another 48 of poles that were then connected with the main BNSF line. These carloads are in addition to the 878 of newsprint that originated in Washington and then connected to BNSF. This line alone allows for the diversion of more than 9,000 trucks from the highway network.

Opportunities to maintain and potentially expand rail service either on the mainline network or within the short line system should not be underestimated. As previously described by the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI), decreased highway maintenance costs, decreased highway user costs, and decreased shipper costs comprise a core group of economic impacts that may be realized from the efficient operation of short line railroads (10).

For Idaho wood products, two very different markets are served by rail and truck. Wood products moved from Idaho on rail travel an average distance of 1,682 miles, while by truck the products are moved an average of 187 miles. Such a discrepancy in travel distance highlights the disparity in transport costs between the two modes. The loss or reduction in service of the rail network would necessarily imply a significant loss of market for wood products, the value of which exceeded $350 million in 2007 statewide. Similar discrepancies in modal utility may also be found for the pulp and newsprint industries, since rail transit averages over 2,000 miles.

Seasonal Restrictions A third major factor impacting to the movement of commodities throughout the Panhandle region is the constraint on load limits caused by spring break-up. While the respondents commenting on this issue acknowledge and appreciate the necessity for the policy, several noted the frustration it causes. Such frustrations they believe are on the part of the trucking industry and also the passenger vehicles sharing the roads with the trucks.

Concern over break-up limitations is multi-faceted and includes the excess cost born by the shippers or carriers due to running under weight or over longer distances. Additional

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concerns include the perceived lack of awareness and understanding by other drivers on the roadway, which may induce erratic and aggressive behavior leading to unsafe attempts to overtake the slower moving vehicles. Compounding these concerns is the lack of pull off or passing lane opportunities along such routes that could work to alleviate traffic back up behind the slow moving trucks.

Clearwater RegionThe Clearwater region of US-95 is perhaps the most dynamic segment of the corridor. It contains interactions among the three major modes of transport in the region: roadway, railway, and waterway. From the west, this segment of US-95 is linked to the Palouse and Washington State through several state connectors, most notably SH-270 between Pullman and Moscow as well as US-12 entering Lewiston from Clarkston, Washington and continuing east to Montana.

Besides linking the Clearwater region’s US-95 backbone to the nation, the region is served by navigable waterways along the Snake River. Multiple ports in or near Idaho provide opportunities for intermodal connection and moving goods up and down the waterway, and to and from west coast ports.

Several railway lines interact with the freight movement on the US-95 corridor. These lines include the Washington Idaho Railway (WIR) connecting Harvard, Idaho to Palouse, Washington and to the Washington State owned Palouse River and Coulee City (PCC) Railroad and eventually to Class I service just west of Spokane, Washington. Additional railroad connections occurs near the Snake River Ports, with the Great Northwest Railroad (GNWR) servicing the Ports of Wilma and Lewiston and providing connectivity to the UP and BNSF near Ayer, Washington and with the Bountiful Grain and Craig Mountain Railroad (BGCM) east of Lewiston.

The data from County Business Patterns in 2013 shows that much of the freight dependent Industry is focused in the greater Lewiston and Moscow areas, within Nez Perce and Latah counties. Missing from the data is the substantial influence of agricultural production in this region. Such agricultural production data can be obtained from USDA’s CropScape.

Agricultural production by acreage in the region is highly devoted to wheat production. Additional acreage is devoted to dry beans and barley. While the production regions is largely concentrated on the western edge of these counties, it is evident that crop production takes place both away from the main US-95 backbone of the corridor and away from the river terminals, from which it is transported. With such a dispersion of activity, the necessity for an integrated system from field to river or rail becomes significant.

Utilizing the acreage devoted to wheat production in each of the region’s counties, we can estimate the truck volume generated from wheat production (Table 1). In total, roughly 29,000 truck trips are needed to support harvest.

TABLE 1 Truck Trips to Support Wheat Harvest (Assumed 26 tons per truck; 60 pounds per Bu)

Idaho Nez Perce Lewis Latah ClearwaterWheat Harvested (Ac) 80,467 82,915 85,066 97,844 11,659Wheat Yield (Bu) 5,922,408 5,807,539 5,804,623 6,983,268 652,957Wheat Yield (tons) 177,672 174,226 174,139 209,498 19,589Yield per Acre 74 70 68 71 56

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Truck Trips needed to Support Harvest 6,834 6,701 6,698 8,058 753

Identified Constraints to Efficient FlowBridges and Route Capability Key considerations voiced by respondents included the capacity and condition of the region’s bridges. Latah and Idaho counties each possess three bridges with ratings less than 50, while Nez Perce has a bridge with a sufficiency rating of 7. Compounding the concerns over bridge conditions throughout the region are the truck length capabilities of several collector routes that feed into US-95, particularly in Latah County in which the road curvature limits the usability of maxi-trucks.

129,000 pound In contrast to stakeholders in the Panhandle region, several the timber and agricultural sector stakeholders in the Clearwater expressed a desire to avoid allowance of 129,000 pound routes anywhere in the state. One respondent did not feel the benefit outweighed the costs. Another expressed concern about the competitive advantage a designation may provide to competitors, as opposed to their operation in which 129,000 pound operations are not feasible given other roadway attributes.

River Traffic The river system is the freight lifeline for many of the Inland Northwest, particularly in the Clearwater Region. The system connects upriver ports with the lower Columbia River export load centers. Barge traffic along the Columbia and Snake Rivers brings grain and other bulk goods downriver to lower Columbia River ports. Historically, roughly 4.7 million tons of wheat has been moved down the Columbia-Snake River system by barges annually, accounting for 74 percent of the total downstream shipments (11).

Not all issues in the US-95 corridor are actionable items under the control of the state’s transportation agency or its jurisdictions. One such significant issue is container availability for the region’s freight movers; particularly pulse crops and paper products that may experience significant increase in transportation costs. Since April 2015, usual container service by barge from the Port of Lewiston has been suspended. The suspension of services is a direct result of activities at the Port of Portland that resulted in the last steamship line no longer making calls. This line represented 90 percent of the Port of Lewiston’s container volume. The lack of container availability at the Port of Lewiston has necessitated the region’s producers to find alternate means of procuring transportation services, which at this time is significantly dependent upon container delivery by truck from the Port of Seattle, and less so by a modified rail and barge combination. This need is complicated by driver shortages that already plague the industry and the heavy transport cost due to the extended distance and the reduced modal competition. Producers in the region have expressed interest in the development of improved rail access via closer switching stations. As car availability and reliability of delivery have also become significant issues throughout the Northern Corridor, the ability to generate access to a rail line is one component and is a longer term mechanism to addressing the issue.

Southwest RegionMoving to the southern extent of the corridor, US-95 feeds into Idaho’s major east-west corridor, I-84, before continuing southward into Oregon. The intersection of US-95 and I-84 serves as a major connection point for the origination of commodity movement outward beyond Idaho. In addition to the connectivity with I-84, this region of the US-95 corridor also serves as a

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significant production region and first mile connectivity to railway utilization. The southern portion of the US-95 corridor is primarily served by the UP and connecting short lines such as the Eastern Idaho Railroad.

While US-95 does not pass through Canyon and Ada counties, they are the primary sources of freight. The data from County Business Patterns in 2013 shows that the counties are heavily populated with freight generating firms, primarily retail and construction industries. Similar to the Clearwater Region, agricultural production is absent from the data but can be obtained from USDA CropScape. By acreage, the southwest region is dominated by alfalfa, corn, and wheat production. Significant quantities of each are grown around the general vicinity of the US-95 and I-84 interchange. A fourth significant crop produced in the region with substantial use of US-95 is the sugar beet industry. The ten counties included within the region produced nearly one million tons of sugar beets in 2012. Sugar beet production has an October to November harvest in which beets are moved to storage piles before being moved to factory for processing. Following processing, one percent of the product remains in Idaho, while the remaining is exported, mostly (75 percent) by rail from siding available at the factory. Transportation of sugar beets is a major user and proponent of the 129,000 pound corridor allowances, as it permits a significant reduction in the number of trucks required.

Similar to the dependencies upon rail of portions of the timber industry in the north, significant agricultural products are moved by rail out of Idaho, with major portions in the southwest region. Cereal grains originating in Idaho moved on average 90 miles by truck, whereas they moved 939 miles on average by rail. Similarly, other agricultural products moved 429 miles on average by truck and over 2,000 by rail; again constituting significantly different market segments.

Identified Constraints to Efficient FlowBy and large, respondents to interview questions in the southwest region were pleased with the condition of the US-95 Corridor or at least seeing the improvements (e.g. expanding utility of 129,000 pound corridors) being made throughout the system. For example, trucking companies had previously expressed that they would not use the portions of US-95 near Council and would instead use Washington based routes. Effort to improve this section of road over the last decade has altered use decisions. They continue to express concern over the SH-55 route due to length restrictions, as well as that of US-12 further north due to roadway pitch. While these routes may be considered their own corridors, they inevitably influence the redundancy of the highway network through the western side of Idaho; giving firms’ options in the event of closures or other constraints to flow on one segment.

In addition to the length restrictions found on SH-55, multiple bridges have sufficiency rating of less than fifty, including one receiving a nine near Cascade. US-95 additionally has bridges of concern with ratings less than fifty near Cambridge. Given the length restrictions already in place on SH-55 and the tendency by some firms to avoid this roadway, the continued suitability of US-95 bridges should be a significant factor given the lack of readily available alternate routes without substantial reroute necessities.

CONCLUSIONThe search for understanding of a freight corridor’s influence on commodity flows and supply chains is a continual process. This understanding is critical at many levels of the transportation industry and to those firms and providing that transportation. Data are increasingly desired at the

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sub national level and are essential to adequate planning by state, regional, and local levels to continue to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of the transportation system. Determining the importance of a corridor to commodity flows leads to improved bases for the prioritization of investments in infrastructure as well as increasing the ability to determine quantitative impacts of constraints to flow or effective use of resources and modes available.

Practical Design and Least Cost strategies permit the evaluation of corridor performance and aids in identifying a series of potential constraints that may inhibit the ability of proposed projects to achieve stated goals in improving freight efficiency. To consider supply chains under a practical design framework, the primary question of concern is whether the considered project permits a gain in utility to the freight users of the corridor. Freight users of concern are those that currently use the system and those potential users whose willingness to pay is currently less than the present costs but may be induced to use the system if changes are made.

To achieve an understanding on roadway factors of freight user utility at a corridor level, we first develop an understanding of corridors as they relate to supply chains. As a rural, western state, much of the freight movement within Idaho may be attributable to those industries that are resource based and cover large sections of land. Along the US-95 corridor these are namely agricultural and timber production. With such broad geographic coverage from these industries, the consideration of ‘the corridor’ necessarily includes those collector routes and modes that feed in into and out of the backbone of the corridor. In this sense, we compare the US-95 corridor to a watershed in which many tributaries flow into and out of the mainline.

Drawing together the Practical Design and watershed lines of thought, we can identify that projects aimed to improve supply chain efficiency necessarily must include a consideration of the users’ ability to take advantage of the investment through a change in their freight movements. For example, it is of little value to improve the weight capacity of a highway segment if the main beneficiaries are unable to load trucks to the new capacity based on other roadway restrictions along their supply chain. Such a concern was voiced by stakeholders in the Clearwater Region, who felt disadvantaged by 129,000 pound limits due to their inability to load at such levels given their location on other roadways without such loading ability.

With these lines of thought pulled together, one may begin to evaluate potential improvements to supply chain efficiencies by considering the most limiting factor for the major industries utilizing the network. Further, we identify a series of roadway attributes which tend to contribute to or inhibit the utility of the corridor to freight users and are already frequently collected by transportation agencies. These attributes are:

Allowable length; Allowable Weight; Bridge Condition; Pavement Condition; Safety; and Slow Speed Constraints.

The interplay of the above attributes contribute to the ability of freight users to make efficient use decisions. Stakeholders routinely identify efficiency of movement to be reflective of their ability to utilize least cost routes, minimize non-productive time in transit, reduce roadway wear, increase safety, and readily access their first and last miles along with modal connections.

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To identify the means by which major stakeholders and users of the corridor interact with the network, we identify a series of data collection strategies aimed to provide the most useful information at the desired scale and detail level. These methods include establishment surveys, roadside truck surveys, supplemental sources of local economic activity, and disaggregation. While each has its own set of pros and cons as previously identified, their utility as an independent method to collect subnational freight information, or in some combination with one another, greatly increases the capacity of transportation management agencies to implement improvement projects with supply chains needs and anticipated responses better understood.

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REFERENCES

1. TransCore. NCHRP Report 435: A Guidebook for Transportation Corridor Studies: A Process for Effective Decision-Making. Transportation Research Board of National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1999.

2. The Transpo Group. Highway 41 Corridor Master Plan: A Guide for Land Use and Transportation Improvements. Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 2002.

3. Carr, J.L., C.D. Dixon, and M. Meyer. NCHRP Report 661: A Guidebook for Corridor-based Statewide Transportation Planning. Transportation Research Board of National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 2010.

4. Cambridge Systematics. NCHRP Report 446: A Guidebook for Performance-Based Transportation Planning. Transportation Research Board of National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 2000.

5. Cambridge Systematics. NCHRP 08-32(2)A: Multimodal Transportation: Development of a Performance-Based Transportation Planning Process. Transportation Research Board of National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1999.

6. Casavant, K., A. Goodchild, E. Jessup, and C.T. Lawson. NCFRP Report 26: Guidebook for Developing Subnational Commodity Flow Data. Transportation Research Board of National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 2013.

7. McGee, H.W., V.H. Brustlin. NCHRP Synthesis 443: Practical Highway Design Solutions. Transportation Research Board of National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 2013.

8. Nelson, D. and D. Shakow. Least-Cost Planning: A Tool for Metropolitan Decision-Making. TRR Report 1499. National Academy of Sciences/Engineering, Washington, D.C., 1995.

9. David Evans and Associates Inc. Idaho Statewide Freight Study. The Idaho Transportation Department, Boise, ID, 2013.

10. Bitzan, J., D. Tolliver, and D. Benson. Small Railroads – Investment Needs Financial Options, and Public Benefits. North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 2002.

11. Simmons, S., and K. Casavant. Historical Waterborne Commerce on the Columbia-Snake River System: Commodity Movements Up and Down River, 1991-2010. FPTI Research Report 1, Freight Policy Transportation Institute, Pullman, WA, 2010.

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