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21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies

Freight Performance Measure Primer

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Contact Information: Freight Feedback at FreightFeedback@dot.gov

United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Operations
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590

FHWA-HOP-16-089

October 2017


Table of Contents

[ Notice and Quality Assurance Statement ] [ Technical Report Documentation Page ][ List Of Abbreviations And Symbols ]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND ON FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
WHY MEASURE ASPECTS OF FREIGHT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE?
CHAPTER 2. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASURES
LINKAGE OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES TO ECONOMIC IMPACTS
LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
CHAPTER 3. AVAILABLE DATA
FREQUENTLY USED FREIGHT DATA
CHAPTER 4. COMMON FREIGHT MEASURES
FREIGHT DEMAND MEASURES
FREIGHT EFFICIENCY – HIGHWAY SPEEDS, AVERAGE SPEEDS, RELIABILITY
FREIGHT MODELING
RAILROAD SPEEDS AND RELIABILITY
FREIGHT SYSTEM CONDITION INDICATORS
FREIGHT ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES
FREIGHT SAFETY MEASURES
FREIGHT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MEASURES AND ANALYSIS
FREIGHT ACCESSIBILITY MEASURES
INFRASTRUCTURE-BASED AND NETWORK MEASURES
AREA-BASED MEASURES
FUTURE PROGRAMS (FREIGHT FLUIDITY)
CHAPTER 5. CHALLENGES WITH FREIGHT PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
SETTING FREIGHT GOALS
LACK OF CONSISTENCY
ABUNDANCE OF INCOMPLETE DATA
FREIGHT MODELING CAPABILITIES AT THE REGIONAL SCALE
APPLYING THE MEASURES
DATA CAPTURE
INTEGRATING DATA
SUSTAINING FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASURES
CHAPTER 6. BEST PRACTICES AND RECOMMENDED FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASURES
BEST PRACTICES: PRIVATE SECTOR
BEST PRACTICES: PUBLIC SECTOR
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A COMPREHENSIVE FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT PROGRAM
REFERENCES
APPENDIX A. HISTORY OF FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASURES
APPENDIX B. FREIGHT STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWEES AND INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
APPENDIX C. FREQUENTLY USED FREIGHT DATA
APPENDIX D. ADDITIONAL AVAILABLE HIGHWAY DATA
APPENDIX E. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
APPENDIX F. TRUCK PARKING METRICS
APPENDIX G. INNOVATIVE RESEARCH: USING FUEL TAXES TO TRACK TRUCK MOVEMENT

List of Figures

Figure 1. Chart. Florida Department of Transportation performance measures graphic.
Figure 2. Photo. Truck delivery on streetcar tracks, Washington, D.C.
Figure 3. Photo. Urban freight delivery, Washington, D.C.
Figure 4. Map. U.S. Department of Transportation major freight corridors.
Figure 5. Photo. Congestion due to construction on I-81, Pennsylvania.
Figure 6. Map. Philly Freight Finder screenshot showing travel time index and average speeds for selected time period.
Figure 7. Map. European map of major roadways.
Figure 8. Equation. Travel Time Equivalent.
Figure 9. Map. Average truck speeds on select interstate highways, 2010.
Figure 10. Chart. A taxonomy of the most common area-based measurement approaches.
Figure 11. Equation. Generic form of an area-based measure.
Figure 12. Diagram. Fuel vendor location and average distance of truck travel.
Figure 13. Diagram. Roadway segments attributed to fuel vendor.
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