Improved Freight Data
The effectiveness and efficiency of the freight transportation system depend heavily on reliable data to inform a range of decisions at all levels of government and in the private sector about economic and infrastructure investments and policy issues. Data on goods movement are needed to identify and evaluate options for mitigating congestion, improve regional and global economic competitiveness, enable effective land use planning, inform investment and policy decisions about modal optimization, identify market opportunities, and many other purposes. The freight data collected by a variety federal agencies, states, and other organizations are not coordinated, of varying quality and reliability, and difficult to combine.
A framework to guide the development of a national freight database and related data collection is proposed in the committee’s report (Special Report 276: A Concept for a National Freight Data Program; TRB 2003). This framework focuses on increasing the linkages between different sources of data and filling gaps to develop a comprehensive source of timely and reliable data on freight flows. The national database aims to fulfill the major needs of a wide variety of users by capturing the important characteristics of freight movements, namely, shipment origin and destination; commodity characteristics, weight, and value; modes of shipment; routing and time of day; and vehicle or vessel type and configuration.