Office of Operations Freight Management and Operations

The AASHTO-FHWA Freight Transportation Partnership – Synthesis Report

Executive Summary

The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) co-hosted a meeting of State Department of Transportation (DOT) freight officials, FHWA Division Office staff, and U.S. DOT headquarters staff, as well as private sector representatives, on April 26-27, 2005 in Columbus, Ohio. The goal of the conference was to define a position description framework for a State-Level Freight Coordinator(s) through the identification of:

  • The roles and responsibilities of a State-Level Freight Transportation Coordinator,
  • The skill sets required for the Freight Transportation Coordinator position, and
  • The organizational and institutional issues that need to be addressed to better advance freight transportation projects more effectively.

Background

Between 2000 and 2002, the FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations (HOFM) conducted extensive outreach with freight stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to learn what was needed to enable freight transportation projects to better compete in the project selection process. The responses heard emphasized the need for better coordination and cooperation between the public and private sectors, new mechanisms for financing freight projects (innovative financing), better data and use of that data, and better professional capacity building. Additionally, the freight community expressed that having someone or several people within each state dedicated to making freight transportation improvements will be a necessity in order to spearhead these improvements.

In response to the freight transportation improvement challenges being faced and the feedback from the outreach events, the U.S. DOT included a provision for a State-Level Freight Coordinator in its proposed bill for surface transportation reauthorization, the "Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003" (SAFETEA). Whether or not the position is actually included once SAFETEA is passed, FHWA and AASHTO both recognize the need for someone of a similar position in each state to help plan and operate a transportation system that accommodates freight movement needs.

To set the stage for the Ohio conference, in February 2005, AASHTO conducted a survey of freight professionals in State DOTs to learn about their perspectives on freight transportation priorities and needs. Similarly, FHWA conducted a survey of FHWA Division Office professionals focused on freight transportation. Two online WebEx conferences were held to discuss the results of the survey and shape the agenda for the Columbus conference.

Key Survey Findings

Within the survey, both State DOTs and FHWA agreed that there are a core set of skills, roles and responsibilities that freight transportation professionals and offices need to advance freight-related transportation projects. They also agreed that educating stakeholders, including the general public, about freight transportation needs is important to improving freight transportation. Both FHWA and the State DOT respondents also felt that there are significant institutional barriers to implementing freight initiatives.

Overall, the survey results indicated that achieving state freight transportation priorities will require:

  • Setting priorities, promoting, and educating – generating better and more knowledgeable freight professionals;
  • Connecting the private sector through councils or other institutional means;
  • Connecting jurisdictions;
  • Integrating institutionally;
  • Integrating the modes;
  • Data analysis and planning;
  • Understanding of funding and financing issues;
  • Understanding the planning process; and
  • Thinking both globally and locally.

These needs were discussed within the web conferences and were addressed during the Columbus conference. Participants in the Columbus conference refined and expanded on the survey results to create a complete set of roles, responsibilities, required skills, and institutional barriers to be overcome.

A list of the survey questions and a more in depth summary of the survey results can be found in Appendix B.

Conference Outcomes

Throughout the conference, participants contributed to defining a position description framework for a State-Level Freight Coordinator. The breadth of the identified responsibilities and required skills indicate that two position levels may be required – one having a thorough working knowledge of the freight industry and one working at a higher level, serving as an advocate for transportation improvements that benefit freight movements. The conference established common ground on roles, responsibilities, skills, resources and institutional issues. The format of the conference did not, however, lend itself to drilling down to specifics of how to accomplish the actions identified. Much work remains in defining the State-Level Freight Coordinator and implementing the position. At the conclusion of the conference, participants identified and prioritized a set of next steps for moving forward, shown in Table 1.

Table 1 – Next Steps, as Identified by Conference Participants
Next Steps
  1. Development of a national U.S. DOT freight policy
  2. Establish a formal way for states to work together on regional and inter-regional projects
  3. FHWA/U.S. DOT should identify legal flexibility within existing funding mechanisms (Note: this tied in priority with #2)
  4. AASHTO should establish a freight committee
  5. Promote importance of freight within State DOTs and Federal leadership
  6. Encourage Congress to pass SAFETEA
  7. Educate shippers via the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL)

Confirming what was seen in the survey results and heard throughout the conference, the development of a national U.S. DOT freight policy was voted as the priority next step. Such a policy will be helpful in encouraging and assisting states with working together, across borders. As indicated in the survey, finding solutions to freight problems will involve looking beyond state borders. Freight does not move in a vacuum and therefore, addressing freight needs requires addressing issues on a national basis as well as at the regional, state and local level.

Addressing the next steps will require the continued participation of those individuals involved to date. The proposed reauthorization bill is importation to the Coordinator position, but it isn't critical. Whether or not the position is included in the final bill, it is critical freight programs are established in each State. FHWA and AASHTO will continue to collaborate to support activities that advance the State-Level Freight Coordinator effort, as well as freight transportation as a whole. The FHWA Freight Council will be forming workgroups responsible for taking action on the items identified through the survey and the conference. Similarly, AASHTO may also form committees to work to implement freight improvements for State DOTs. In addition, both FHWA and AASHTO intend to share this report with State DOT Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and FHWA Division Administrators in order to get their input and buy-in for moving this effort forward. Now that the survey and conference are complete, the goal is to maintain momentum and continue to work toward better integration of freight projects into the planning process.

Introduction

The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) co-hosted a meeting of State Department of Transportation (DOT) freight officials, FHWA Division Office staff, and U.S. DOT headquarters staff on April 26-27, 2005 in Columbus, Ohio. The goal of the conference was to define a position description framework for a State-Level Freight Coordinator(s) through the identification of:

  • The roles and responsibilities of a State-Level Freight Transportation Coordinator,
  • The skill sets required for the Freight Transportation Coordinator position, and
  • The organizational and institutional issues that need to be addressed to better advance freight transportation projects more effectively.

Participants were also given the opportunity to listen to a panel of private sector representatives share their thoughts on the duties of a State-Level Freight Coordinator.

Background

Between 2000 and 2002, the FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations (HOFM) conducted extensive outreach with freight stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to learn what was needed to enable freight transportation projects to better compete in the project selection process. The responses heard emphasized the need for better coordination and cooperation between the public and private sectors, new mechanisms for financing freight projects (innovative financing), better data and use of that data, and better professional capacity building. Additionally, the freight community expressed that having someone or several people within each state dedicated to making freight transportation improvements will be a necessity in order to spearhead these improvements.

In response to the freight transportation improvement challenges being faced and the feedback from the outreach events, the U.S. DOT included a provision for a State-Level Freight Coordinator in its proposed bill for surface transportation reauthorization, the "Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003" (SAFETEA). The proposed bill states:

Each State shall designate a freight transportation coordinator. The coordinator shall be responsible for fostering public and private sector collaboration needed to implement complex solutions to freight transportation and freight transportation gateway problems, including coordination of metropolitan and statewide transportation activities with trade and economic interests and coordination with other States, local Department of Defense officials, local Department of Homeland Security officials, agencies, and organizations to find regional solutions to freight transportation problems. The coordinator shall also be responsible for advancing freight professional capacity building programs for the State.[1]

As can be seen in this language, a multi-jurisdictional/regional approach is necessary, scalable by State to accommodate the level of freight activity in the State. A good deal of this activity is already taking place. To tap into existing capabilities, inform others and build consensus, the Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) are now partnering to move ahead with this State-Level Freight Coordinator concept.

With the understanding that the needs in each State are different, FHWA and AASHTO have set out to create a scaleable position description for a State-Level Freight Coordinator. Two key steps have been taken in order to build a framework for the position: (1) conducting a survey of State DOTs and FHWA Division Offices to learn about their perspectives on freight transportation priorities and needs; and (2) holding the Ohio conference.

Key Survey Findings

In February 2005, AASHTO conducted a survey of freight professionals in State DOTs to learn about their perspectives on freight transportation priorities and needs. Similarly, FHWA conducted a survey of FHWA Division Office professionals focused on freight transportation. The survey asked questions such as, "How high a priority is freight transportation in your state?"; "What hot freight issues do you foresee in the next five to ten years?"; "What are the roles and responsibilities of a State Freight Coordinator"; and "What organizational and institutional changes are needed to improve planning for freight transportation?"

Two online WebEx conferences were held to discuss the results of the survey and shape the agenda for the Columbus conference.

The results of the survey indicated that both State DOTs and FHWA agreed that there are a core set of skills, roles and responsibilities that freight transportation professionals and offices need to advance freight-related transportation projects. They also agreed that that one of the most important roles and responsibilities is developing partnerships and coordinating with other stakeholders. This includes coordination among modes, between the public and private sectors, within institutions, and among jurisdictions. They also agreed that educating stakeholders, including the general public, about freight transportation needs is important to improving freight transportation. Furthermore, it was agreed that a national freight program or plan is needed.

Both FHWA and the State DOT respondents felt that there are significant institutional barriers to implementing freight initiatives. One of the primary barriers is the lack of management support for freight projects. With the number of competing priorities, freight often takes a back burner to passenger transportation projects. Another major barrier is lack of coordination with the private sector. Different planning horizons lead to incompatible styles of working and advancing freight projects.

Overall, the survey results indicated that achieving state freight transportation priorities will require:

  • Setting priorities, promoting, and educating – generating better and more knowledgeable freight professionals;
  • Connecting the private sector through councils or other institutional means;
  • Connecting jurisdictions;
  • Integrating institutionally;
  • Integrating the modes;
  • Data analysis and planning;
  • Understanding of funding and financing issues;
  • Understanding the planning process; and
  • Thinking both globally and locally.

These needs were discussed within the web conferences and were addressed during the Columbus conference. Participants in the Columbus conference refined and expanded on the survey results to create a complete set of roles, responsibilities, required skills, and institutional barriers to be overcome.

A list of the survey questions and a more in depth summary of the survey results can be found in Appendix B.

Key Conference Findings and Outcomes

The Columbus conference served to further refine and expand upon the survey results, as well as add additional input from the private sector. For the most part, the private sector representatives fully supported what was said by the State DOT and FHWA participants, and emphasized the importance of working closely together. A synopsis of the private sector panel discussion is included in Appendix H.

Between the survey and the conference, several key themes emerged that need to be kept in mind as FHWA and AASHTO move forward with this effort:

  • The Freight Coordinator position is a State-level position, but not necessarily a position that has to exist within the State DOT. Furthermore it may be more than one position. It may exist within the State DOT or another relevant agency.
  • There may be two levels of activity within each State – a freight Champion and a freight Coordinator.
  • Partnerships among all freight stakeholders are important.
  • Understanding and involving the private sector is necessary to advancing freight transportation improvements.
  • Freight crosses state borders and therefore communication, coordination and cooperation across borders is necessary.
  • Improving freight transportation requires changes at both the State and national level. A national level freight transportation policy is needed.
  • New or enhanced funding mechanisms are needed to improve and enhance freight transportation.
  • Data collection and analysis is important and emerges as a priority role and responsibility of the Coordinator, but inconsistencies in survey and conference results indicate that it may not be as high of a priority as some of the other identified roles and responsibilities.

As the conference progressed it became clear that two levels of activity were being identified. One role involved having a thorough working knowledge of the freight industry, related policies, and emerging trends. It involved a grassroots connection to freight stakeholders and being able to understand/analyze data to turn it into useful information. The other role involved working at a "higher" level – being a spokesperson for freight in the State and being in a position to help influence decisions and advocate for transportation improvements that benefit freight movement. These two roles were termed "coordinator" and "champion" respectively.

There is a continuum of activity between these two roles, but for the most part they are two separate roles. Within this report, note that there are certain roles and responsibilities, and skill sets that fall in one role or the other, or are applicable to both. It is likely that the coordinator will need to have someone at a higher level who can help influence decisions and champion changes within the state. There may be more than one champion in a state, with each champion representing different interests, such as interstate commerce, economic development, and the various modes.

During the conference, ideas were prioritized based on participant votes. This synthesis report is based on these identified priorities, as well as the key findings from the survey. However, as not all participants voted, it is important to note that the voting results do not indicate definitive priorities. While they are not conclusive, they are suggestive, as the mix of respondents generally matched the mix of participants at the conference.

The raw data that came out of the survey and the conference can be found in the Appendices.

The following sections outline the State-Level Freight Coordinator mission, roles and responsibilities, and skill sets, as well as organizational issues relative to administrative and operational environments that need to be changed to enable the fulfillment of the identified roles and responsibilities.

Roles and Responsibilities

The mission of the State-Level Freight Coordinator will be broad. Based on the synthesis of what was identified in the conference, this person will be charged with developing and implementing efforts to improve freight movement within the State. The Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring that all State transportation agencies and divisions integrate freight mobility considerations into their day to day business practices.

The Coordinator will also have many specific roles and responsibilities. The survey and the conference brought to light a number of them, which have been summarized into six key ideas. The following list is in priority order, based on conference participant votes, beginning with the most important:

  1. Foster cross-state, cross-agency, cross-sector and cross-modal partnerships. These partnerships are necessary to achieve joint planning and operations for efficient freight transportation and to obtain needed funding for projects. When developing these partnerships, the Coordinator will need to think regionally and corridor-wide. The Coordinator will also need to review current partnerships to see where gaps exist and then identify needed partnerships to help bridge these gaps.
  2. Act as single point of contact to all stakeholders. This role entails coordinating with all relevant stakeholders and creating a forum in which all parties can come together to work on freight transportation improvements. This will involve participation in multijurisdictional activity.
  3. Serve as an advocate for freight interests in the State. This will require an understanding of the various audiences involved in freight projects and how to best reach those audiences to promote freight interests. It will also require an awareness of all freight projects in the State and those that involve multijurisdictional coordination. The Coordinator will need to track the progress of these projects to understand where issues occur, how issues are resolved, and what changes need to be made within the state to better support project development and implementation.
  4. Determine the freight vision and goals for the State. The vision and goals need to connect with other State interests such as economic development, land use, environmental compliance, etc. and how freight movement intersects with those interests.
  5. Educate all stakeholders on the importance of freight. This includes educating the public and private sectors about freight movement through the State and its relationship with their interests – key to this activity is educating the general public. Within the survey, both the FHWA and State DOT respondents agreed that FHWA needs to continue to develop and provide educational opportunities, such as workshops and training courses, for State DOTs and MPOs to continue to provide them the tools and resources to enable this function The Coordinator will be a vital link to FHWA to identify what training is needed.
  6. Identify data sources and provide technical data. The Coordinator will be the primary point of contact for freight data within the State and will need to understand what data is needed to support decision making involving freight related transportation projects. The coordinator will be the connection point for integrating local (i.e., State / MPO) data with larger national or regional freight movement databases.

Figure 1 illustrates the distribution of votes by all participants combined while Figure 2 illustrates the votes by each organization type. Figure 1 shows that all roles and responsibilities are important, having all received votes but Figure 2 shows that each organization type has different priorities.

Figure 1
Figure 1 – State Freight Coordinator Roles and Responsibilities – Combined Voting Results

Figure 2
Figure 2 – State-Level Freight Coordinator Roles and Responsibilities – Voting by Affiliation

The majority of participants who voted did not indicate their affiliation; however, some patterns emerge from those who did as well as from the consolidated voting results.

Defining the freight vision and goals, building partnerships, and serving as a single point of contact were the three roles considered to be of greatest shared importance among both FHWA and State DOTs. Within the survey, both FHWA and State DOTs also identified developing partnerships as a key role/responsibility. While the survey did not directly inquire about the importance to FHWA of the role of serving as a single point of contact, the responses suggest that this role is important. FHWA participants identified a number of outreach and technical support related responsibilities, which would require that the Coordinator serve as a single point of contact for freight related information.

The conference votes suggest that the "Advocate for Freight" role is clearly important to all stakeholders, but that it is of greatest importance to State DOTs. This variance makes sense given the differences in role and focus of the State DOT versus the national perspective of FHWA.

Table 2 depicts the top three priorities by perspective, with the highest priority listed first.

Table 2 – Top thee priority roles and responsibilities from participant perspectives
FHWA State DOT Private Sector
  1. Define Vision/Goals and Foster Partnerships
Advocate for Freight Define Vision/Goals
  1. Act as a Single POC
Define Vision/Goals Advocate for Freight
  1. Educate, Advocate for Freight, and Provide Decision-support Data
Foster Partnerships and Act as a Single POC Not applicable

Education of stakeholders is important to FHWA but may be perceived as less important to State DOTs. This was also reflected in the survey results, as education emerged as a top role and responsibility identified by FHWA, but it was not on the list of top items identified by State DOTs. One possibility for this difference in thinking is that State DOTs rely on FHWA for training opportunities and therefore may feel that training is more of an FHWA responsibility.

While data needs were identified several times within the survey by both State DOTs and FHWA, "providing decision-support data" did not emerge as a top priority at the Columbus conference. This is not to say that data collection and analysis is not important, it is still considered a priority, but it can be inferred that there are other roles and responsibilities that need to be fulfilled before focusing on the data aspect. Alternatively, participants may not view this as being a priority role of the Freight Coordinator position. One reason for this may be that many states are already collecting data and several tools exist for the analysis of such data. The survey results indicated that roughly half of all states collect data other than truck counts. States may be further ahead in this area than in the other areas defined as priority roles and responsibilities.

The private sector clearly felt that defining the freight vision and goals and serving as an advocate for freight interests were the top roles and responsibilities of the Coordinator. It is interesting to note that they did not indicate fostering partnerships as a priority. It may be because in light of the differing timelines between the government and private sector, and the private sector's ability to partner rather freely with other companies when it is in their interest, that they do not view this as a top priority of this government role, However, it does make sense that the advocate role would be important to the private sector, as a public sector advocate could help increase funding or public support for projects that benefit both the public and private sector.

In addition to the group discussion on roles and responsibilities, the private sector panel also highlighted other roles and responsibilities that they felt were important. They stressed the importance of collaborating with the private sector both at the state and national level and educating the public. While the education role was not voted on by the private sector during the group discussion, it was something that they spoke about in their panel discussion. The private sector participants indicated that they were relying on the public sector to serve as educators, informing the general public about the importance of freight, as well as educating upcoming transportation professionals about freight transportation and logistics.

Coordinator Skills

In order to fulfill his/her roles and responsibilities, the Coordinator will need to possess a number of job related skills. Survey respondents and conference attendees agreed that there is a core set of skills that freight transportation professionals and offices need in order to advance freight-related transportation projects. The conference helped to define these needed skills. The prioritized skill set areas are shown below, from most important to least important:

  1. Knowledge and understanding of the freight industry and freight movement. Having an understanding of private sector logistics, the goods movement industry, infrastructure for the various modes, and the government's role in freight movement.
  2. Facilitation and organizational knowledge and expertise. The ability to bring all stakeholders together and facilitate a dialogue that identifies mutual interests, shares ideas, and advances continued collaboration.
  3. Articulate and influential. The ability to articulate needs and influence stakeholders in order to advance freight interests and improvements.
  4. Public speaking and interpersonal communication capabilities. Working hand in glove with being articulate and influential, the ability to build relationships and speak to people at all different levels, from the Governor to barge operators to the general public in a language that resonates with them.
  5. Understanding of transportation programming, project development, design and funding processes and mechanisms. The ability to understand all of the elements of freight transportation projects, from project development, through design and implementation. He/she must also understand current funding options to help craft funding solutions.
  6. Negotiation capabilities. The ability to facilitate between potentially disparate interests to get the differing interests to work together for the advancement of freight transportation within the state.
  7. Visionary thinker. In order to help set the freight vision and goals for the State the ability to understand present freight dynamics and think in terms of improvements for the future.
  8. Data analysis and interpretation capabilities. The ability to provide decision-makers with useful information based on the analysis of complex data and draw meaningful conclusions. The ability to identify where there are data gaps and what additional data needs to be collected to bridge those gaps.
  9. Project management expertise. The ability to track of all freight projects within the State and monitor project plans and timelines as necessary.
  10. Educational expertise. A knowledge of different options and opportunities (e.g., university, FHWA's Freight Professional Development Program, National Highway Institute, AASHTO's Professional Development Series, etc.) to educate freight professionals.

Figure 3 illustrates the distribution of votes by all participants combined, while Figure 4 illustrates the votes by each organization type. Figure 3 indicates that all of these skill sets are important, having all received votes, however, Figure 4 reveals nuances in the perspectives of the State DOTs, FHWA, and the private sector in terms of their respective priorities.

Figure 3
Figure 3 – State Freight Coordinator Required Skills – Combined Voting Results

Figure 4
Figure 4 – State Freight Coordinator Required Skills – Voting by Affiliation

The majority of participants who voted did not indicate their affiliation, however, some patterns emerge from those who did as well as from the consolidated voting results.

  • State DOT, FHWA, and private sector respondents all viewed freight industry knowledge as the most important skill needed by the Coordinator. In the private sector panel discussion, the private sector representatives stressed that the Coordinator will need to have an in-depth understanding of supply chain logistics.
  • Participant groups (State DOT, FHWA, private sector) identified "facilitation" (defined as the ability to facilitate discussions between diverse stakeholders) as an important priority skill area. Facilitation skills will likely be needed to fulfill the partnership development role.

Table 3 depicts the top 3 priority skill areas by perspective, with the highest priority listed first.

Table 3 – Top thee priority skill areas from participant perspectives
FHWA State DOT Private Sector
Freight Industry Knowledge Freight Industry Knowledge Freight Industry Knowledge
Facilitation Facilitation Influential
Transportation Program Development Negotiation Facilitation

It is noteworthy that data analysis, educational and management skills ranked quite low in terms of priority skill areas across all groups. These results suggest that while these skills would be desirable (because they were mentioned and did receive some votes), they simply are not considered to be the top priorities for the Coordinator position. This is consistent with the voting patterns that emerged regarding roles and responsibilities. While educational skills received no votes from FHWA participants at the conference; the FHWA participants did identify serving as an educator as one of the top roles and responsibilities of the Coordinator.

Resources Required

The survey and conference highlighted a number of resources required to effectively plan and carry out freight initiatives. The resources fell into four categories:

  • Funding. This may be obtained through old or new/innovative financing mechanisms.
  • Training and Educational Opportunities. These opportunities are needed to build the knowledge of future freight transportation professionals.
  • Internal and External Support. This includes buy-in from upper management within State DOTs and FHWA Division Offices, support staff to help augment the position, and industry/private sector support.
  • Data and Information. There is a need for useful freight data, including freight flow data, as well as analytical tools to help make sense of the data. There is also a need for more freight research, as well as a knowledge base of successful practices, lessons learned, and existing multimodal issues.

While some of these resources, such as buy-in from upper management will need to come from changes and actions at the institutional level, other resources can be provided through existing education and training. A gap analysis will need to be done to compare the needed resources identified with the resources and training currently available. The Freight Professional Development (FPD) program provides a number of seminars, courses, workshops and informational materials that may provide the resources or information needed within the states. For example, the seminar, "Freight Data Made Simple" teaches the major types of freight data, their sources, and limitations. It also discusses the use of freight data in the transportation planning process, including their use in freight forecasting, and highlights examples of national, state and local freight data applications. Additionally, the seminar identifies key resources and references to help guide state and metropolitan planners in their freight planning efforts. Similarly, the "Engaging the Private Sector in Freight Planning Workshop" teaches participants how to establish a relationship with the private sector. Another existing resource is the recently implemented Freight Peer to Peer program, which is meant to help states connect with each other to share knowledge and best practices. More information about these existing resources can be found on the Freight Professional Development web site – https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/fpd.

Organizational and Institutional Issues

In many States, implementing the State-level Freight Coordinator position will require overcoming a number of organizational and institutional issues. The survey found that within FHWA, only 30% of the respondents felt that they were organized internally to create a State freight program, with culture/organization and management being two of the biggest internal barriers. A number of external barriers were identified as well, including lack of a national policy a lack of communication among stakeholders, and lack of data.

Through the survey and the conference, a number of organizational and institutional issues, specific to FHWA and State DOTs were identified. On the second day of the conference, State DOT and MPO representatives and FHWA representatives were separated to discuss the organizational and institutional issues relative to their respective administrative and operational environments that needed to be changed to enable the fulfillment of the roles and responsibilities of the Coordinator. They were also asked to identify potential ways these issues could be overcome.

State DOT Issues

Table 4 shows the issues and suggested solutions identified by the State DOT participants.

Table 4 – State DOT Institutional Issue Areas and Solution Ideas
Issue Areas Solution Ideas
  1. Lack of dedicated funding for freight projects.
  2. Organizational structure is not conducive to freight needs.
  3. Difficulty in getting the right stakeholders to the table and keeping them there.
  4. Freight projects are overlooked in the political process.
  5. Lack of data.
  6. Lack of regional/multi-state coordination.
  7. Lack of understanding of economic development.
  • Integrate freight awareness in all planning. Provide freight understanding into the different planning activities of existing programs/projects. (This will involve the U.S. DOT)
  • Develop and implement a national freight transportation plan, policy and funding. (This will involve the U.S. DOT)
  • Create 3 types of corridors – national significance, multi-state significance, and regional significance and identify common issues for these corridors at the national and state levels. Then, analyze solutions in one State that are of significance to multiple States and provide a solution that addresses the problem. (This will involve the U.S. DOT)
  • Provide a mechanism for overcoming highway specific funding processes. A flexible funding source is needed to deal with the private sector to expedite freight projects that don't fit under highway projects (This will involve the U.S. DOT).
  • Address freight issues proactively, show positive outcomes and the negative outcome of doing nothing (economic benefit analysis).

FHWA Issues

Table 5 shows the issue areas and solutions identified by FHWA participants.

Table 5 – FHWA Institutional Issue Areas and Solution Ideas
Issue Areas Solution Ideas
  1. The modal structure of USDOT and FHWA needs to be overcome to promote freight planning.
  • Create a National Transportation Fund.
  • FHWA Freight Coordinator should serve as the liaison across the modal administrations and contacts in regions. U.S. DOT senior buy-in may be needed.
  • Establish Freight POC at HQ level of each modal agency within U.S. DOT. Each mode should help fund this role.
  • Invite other modes to attend Advanced Planning Workshops to discuss their modes.
  1. Buy-in that freight is important and a priority is needed from the top of the organization.
  • Include a freight element in the FHWA Division Administrator (DA) performance plan for accountability.
  • Establish a national freight summit and require DAs and FHWA and State-Level Freight Coordinators to attend. (Requires State DOT involvement).
  • Provide the output from this Freight Workshop to all FHWA DAs.
  • Continue to provide data on scale with national freight growth to help inform how this growth can be addressed, make available to everyone. Note: The Freight Analysis Framework Database will be released to all by 2006.
  1. National-level freight goals/objectives are needed. There is no national vision of what a freight system should look like (i.e., identification of projects of national significance).
  • FHWA should convene a session to define the structure/elements of this policy.
  • U.S. DOT needs to develop a national-level freight policy with other stakeholders. It should:
    • Recognize that freight projects are cross-modal.
    • Consider other national-level policies as models.
    • Be high-level, not project-level.
    • Have a strategic focus.
    • Look at freight functionally.
    • Have short-medium and long-range goals.
  • U.S. DOT should consider creating an Assistant Secretary level position for Freight.
  • FHWA could identify possible regions/areas of national significance for inclusion in the policy.
  1. FHWA Division level freight Coordinator needs same training/skills that were identified for State-Level Freight Coordinator–and needs to want to do this job.
  • FHWA should develop a set of core competencies. (Note: Roles and responsibilities identified in this effort will form the basis for these core competencies).
  • The Freight Professional Development Program may help educate the Coordinators.
  • The Coordinator needs to understand core business of U.S. DOT/FHWA.
  1. Develop knowledge/appreciation among FHWA staff of other modes.
  • Consider creating rotational opportunities for FHWA staff and Division Administrators/field representatives to experience/understand other modes.
  • Dedicate a webinar presentation to other modes through the Talking Freight Seminar Series.

As identified in Tables 4 and 5, a key solution option independently concluded by FHWA and the State DOT/MPO representatives is the establishment of a national freight transportation policy. While such a policy cannot overcome all institutional issues, it can reinforce the importance of efficient freight movement and help elevate freight transportation needs to a more visible level. It can also help ensure that state-level freight plans are supportive of a national vision and objectives.

Other similar issues identified included the lack of coordination among stakeholders. FHWA addressed this issue in terms of the current modal structure of the U.S. DOT, stating that the structure needs to be eliminated to allow the modes to work together. The State DOTs addressed this issue in terms of lack of multi state or regional coordination.

Conclusion and Next Steps

Throughout the conference, participants contributed to defining the position description for a State-Level Freight Coordinator. The conference established common ground on roles, responsibilities, skills, resources and institutional issues. The format of the conference did not, however, lend itself to drilling down to specifics of how to accomplish the actions identified. Work remains in development of a template for a State-Level Freight Coordinator position description.

The conference also went a long way toward identifying issues and scoping potential solution sets to advance freight transportation planning and operations. At the conclusion of the conference the attendees were asked to identify and prioritize several next steps to help FHWA and AASSHTO move forward, as shown in Table 6.

Table 6 – Next Steps, as Identified by Conference Participants
Next Steps
  1. Development of a national U.S. DOT freight policy
  2. Establish a formal way for states to work together on regional and inter-regional projects
  3. FHWA/U.S. DOT should identify legal flexibility within existing funding mechanisms (Note: this tied in priority with #2)
  4. AASHTO should establish a freight committee
  5. Promote importance of freight within State DOTs and Federal leadership
  6. Encourage Congress to pass SAFETEA
  7. Educate shippers via the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL)

Confirming what was seen in the survey results and heard throughout the conference, the development of a national U.S. DOT freight policy was voted as the priority next step. Such a policy will be helpful in encouraging and assisting states with working together, across borders. Freight does not move in a vacuum and therefore, addressing freight needs requires addressing issues on a national basis as well as at the State and local level.

The other identified next steps are also reflected in the survey results and the conference outcomes. Establishing a formal way for states to work together is an important next step in developing the partnerships that were identified as being important. Identifying flexibility within existing funding mechanism is just one of many next steps related to enhancing financing opportunities. Financing has been a visible issue throughout all FHWA freight outreach events. Establishing an AASHTO freight committee is important to creating a counterpart to the FHWA Freight Council. This committee would be responsible for addressing many of the State DOT related freight issues that have been identified. Promoting the importance of freight with State DOTs and Federal leadership is important to breaking down institutional barriers related to management and organizational issues. Encouraging Congress to pass SAFETEA is not necessarily an actionable next step, but the identification of that idea as next step indicates how important it is to transportation professionals that this bill gets passed. Finally, educating shippers is just one of many facets to the need for better freight education for all involved parties.

The proposed reauthorization bill is importation to the Coordinator position, but it isn't critical. Whether or not the position is included in the final bill, it is critical freight programs are established in each State.

FHWA and AASHTO will continue to collaborate to support activities that advance the State-Level Freight Coordinator effort, as well as freight transportation as a whole. The FHWA Freight Council will be forming workgroups responsible for taking action on the items identified through the survey and the conference. Similarly, AASHTO may also form committees to work to implement freight improvements for State DOTs. In addition, both FHWA and AASHTO intend to share this report with State DOT Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and FHWA Division Administrators in order to get their input and buy-in for moving this effort forward. Now that the survey and conference are complete, the goal is to maintain momentum and continue to work toward better integration of freight projects into the planning process.

  1. Excerpt from Section 1205 (b) (2) of the Federal Highway Administration's proposal for the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA).

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