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News Archive

All current news items are listed. Narrow your search for news items by selecting a specific category or state. You also can sort news items by date by selecting the arrow next to Date.

The following news items were compiled by the FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of freight news.

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Category: Freight Planning

Trucking Companies Bet on Intermodal Growth - 5/19/2022
Trucking companies are diversifying into intermodal operations to drive continued growth, to counter supply chain disruptions, fuel costs, and efforts to increase sustainability; traditional trucking...

U.S. Eliminates Human Controls Requirement for Fully Automated Vehicles - 5/19/2022
The National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued final rules eliminating the need for automated vehicle (AV) manufacturers to equip fully autonomous vehicles with manual driving...

Radar Sensor Being Development for Intersection Management - 12/23/2021
A research team at the University of Arizona is developing a high-resolution radar sensor that can better distinguish between cars and pedestrians at intersections than...

New ATRI Report Reviews Ways to Find Safe Younger Drivers - 8/16/2021
A new initiative from the American Trucking Association's (ATA) American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is exploring development of an assessment tool to identify the safest...

Smart City Tech Is Being Built Into Planned Communities - 8/16/2021
New master-planned communities are incorporating urban freight technology into developments, including drone delivery and small robotic shopping carts that carry freight for pedestrians.

Study calls for national truck-parking standards - 7/01/2021
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) recently released a report outlining the need for a national, standardized truck parking information framework. ATRI advocates for partnership...

Rise of Electric Vehicles Presents Questions About Transportation Funding - 6/22/2021
As electric vehicle deployment continues, infrastructure owners will experience declining revenues from fuel taxes. This article discusses the approaches some States are taking to ensure...

How Gigantic Ships Create Global Supply Chain Havoc (Podcast) - 5/24/2021
Large container ships, such as the Evergiven, which ran aground in the Suez Canal in March 2021, are contributing to logistical bottlenecks at ports and...

Guidebook for Implementing Alternative Technical Concepts in All Types of Highway Project Delivery Methods - 7/29/2020
The need to quickly update the nation's infrastructure has created a demand for alternative technical concepts (ATC) to be used in the delivery of highway...

Indiana Has Traffic Problems Autonomous Trucks Might Solve - 11/25/2019
According to transportation research nonprofit TRIP, Indiana has one of the Nation's worst bottlenecks where Interstates 94 and 65 converge. Interchanges like this prevent the...

America's Rolling Warehouses: Opportunities and Challenges with Nation’s Freight Delivery System - 10/29/2019
As the freight delivery system evolves with advances in vehicle autonomy, manufacturing and supply chain, and e-commerce, it is becoming more difficult for the nation's...

Research Pays Off – Georgia's Path to Innovation: Alternative Delivery Breathes Life into State Transportation Infrastructure - 9/24/2018
By using alternative delivery, the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) provides the private sector more opportunity to engage in the design and innovate in the...

FAST Act Compliant Freight Plans - 6/01/2018
State Freight Plan information can be found on the Freight Management and Operations Information by State Web page by selecting the desired State.

Intended Strategies to Address Emerging Freight and Delivery Challenges in New York City - 2/14/2017
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and Department of Transportation released a report documenting: changes in freight deliveries and zoning policy for...

Inaugural FASTLANE Grants Leverage $3.6 Billion to Support Transportation Infrastructure - 9/20/2016
A total of 18 infrastructure projects across the country will receive federal grants as part of the new Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for...

Trucking in Central Ohio Expected to Benefit from Federal Smart City Program - 9/07/2016
On June 23, 2016, The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that Columbus, Ohio was the winner of its Smart City Challenge. Since then the city...

Multi-State, Multimodal, Oversize/Overweight Transportation - 8/23/2016
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) released its National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 830: Multi-State, Multimodal, Oversize/Overweight Transportation. The report is a compilation of...

2016 Rail Freight Grant Program Opens Application Period - 8/09/2016
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's (PennDOT) Bureau of Rail Freight, Ports and Waterways has opened its application period for the 2016 Rail Transportation Assistance (RTAP) and...

Four States Sign Pact to Create I-10 Corridor Coalition - 6/16/2016
During the peer exchange that took place on June 2, 2016, transportation leaders in four states created a coalition supporting innovation along the Interstate 10...

Obama Earmarks $4B for Vehicle Automation Projects - 1/28/2016
U.S Department of Transportation's Secretary Anthony Foxx made the announcement that U.S. President Barack Obama's fiscal 2017 budget request will include nearly $4 billion over...

Does US Port Congestion Need a Rethink? - 1/13/2016
In a new report released by the Journal of Commerce, entitled ‘Long Truck Turn Times in LA-LB Persist after Congestion Clears’, it argues that container...

Local View: Keep Freight Moving by Investing in Nation's Ports - 10/21/2015
With the U.S. House set to consider sweeping transportation legislation this October, port directors from across the country have issued an urgent call to fully...

National Freight Strategic Plan Proposes a Path Forward - 10/21/2015
On October 18, 2015, the Department of Transportation introduced The National Freight Strategic Plan in Seattle. The plan lays out freight challenges including: the increase...

DOT TIGER on the Loose at the Port of Brownsville - 8/25/2015
A newly completed TIGER Project has opened in the Port of Brownsville, Texas, resulting in a 650-foot marine cargo dock and storage. The benefits of...

Intermodal Freight Slows Shift to East Coast - 8/25/2015
As intermodal freight enters peak shipping season at the nation's ports, West Coast ports appear to be slowing the diversion of freight to East Coast...

Transportation Planning to Support Economic Development: An Exploratory Study of Competitive Industry Clusters and Transportation in Minnesota - 2/26/2015
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has released a report that explains the relationship between transportation and economic development by investigating how firms in competitive industry...

Florida is Poised to Benefit from New Intermodal Centers - 10/27/2014
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is strategically positioning the state to improve transportation efficiencies and operate as global transportation hub. This item discusses several...

State, Federal Government Making Progress in Creating National Freight Network - 3/20/2014
Together, State Departments of Transportations (DOT) and the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) are making progress on defining the National Freight Network, a transportation...

Missouri Department of Transportation Launches Missouri Freight Plan - 2/20/2014
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has launched their Missouri Freight Plan. MoDOT anticipates that the draft plan will be ready for review in June...

Integrating Freight Considerations into the Highway Capacity Planning Process: Practitioner's Guide - 12/24/2013
The Transportation Research Board's Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Capacity Project C15 has released a pre-production report titled Integrating Freight Considerations into the Highway...

‘Building Florida's Future’ Symposium Brings Together Key Leaders to Position Region and State's Future in Transportation, Economic Development and Workforce - 11/26/2013
In conjunction with the release of Florida Chamber Foundation's introduction of the highly anticipated 2013 Trade and Logistics Study, the State held a symposium to...

An Integrated Framework for Modeling Freight Mode and Route Choice - 10/29/2013
Researchers from the University of Maryland have developed a methodology to determine freight mode choice that can serve as in input to statewide travel demand...

Getting the Goods without the Bads: Freight Transportation Demand Management Strategies to Reduce Urban Impacts - 10/29/2013
Researchers from the State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI) and National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) have completed a study evaluating strategies...

Future Mobility Demand in Megaregions: A National Study with a Focus on the Gulf Coast - 10/16/2013
Researchers from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute have completed a study analyzing current and future mobility demand in megaregions with a focus on the region...

Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Announces Creation of State Freight Advisory Council - 10/01/2013
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Secretary Ann Schneider has announced the creation of the Illinois State Freight Advisory Council to support IDOT's coordination of...

Development of a Freight Benefit/Cost Methodology for Project Planning - 9/16/2013
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has released a freight benefit/cost methodology to assist practitioners with performing quantitative analyses of freight system projects. This...

Report: Smart Growth and Urban Goods Movement - 8/19/2013
The Transportation Research Board's (TRB) National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) has released Report 24: Smart Growth and Urban Goods Movement highlighting connections between goods...

Draft Michigan Freight Plan Available for Public Review and Comment - 8/08/2013
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has published a draft Freight Plan and is accepting public comments on the plan through August 7, 2013. This...

Transportation and Infrastructure Freight Panel Talk Coordination of Freight Planning Activities at Roundtable Discussion - 8/08/2013
The House of Representatives' Panel on 21st Century Freight Transportation has completed its fourth public hearing, with the most recent meeting focusing on effectively coordinating...

Indiana Department of Transportation Gets First Freight Plan Approval under MAP-21 - 7/15/2013
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has become the first State DOT to receive an approved State Freight Plan under MAP-21. In addition, INDOT has...

Florida Adopts Freight Mobility and Trade Plan Policy Element - 7/01/2013
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has completed and adopted their Freight Mobility and Trade Plan Policy Element. The purpose of this plan is to...

North Central Texas Council of Governments Publishes Regional Freight System Inventory Report - 6/17/2013
The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) has published findings from a recent comprehensive freight study of the 12-county region covered by NCTCOG. North...

Synthesis of Freight Research in Urban Transportation Planning - 5/29/2013
The Transportation Research Board's (TRB) National Cooperative Freight Research Program has published findings from a recent study in a report entitled Synthesis of Freight Research...

Texas Freight Advisory Committee to Offer Public Listening Sessions for the Texas Freight Mobility Plan - 5/29/2013
The Texas Freight Advisory Committee has established ten listening sessions for the public to provide input to help shape the state's immediate and long-term plans...

Scenario Planning for Freight Transportation Infrastructure Investment - 4/17/2013
The Transportation Research Board's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) published a report entitled Scenario Planning for Freight Transportation Infrastructure Investment. This report presents findings...

Hampton Roads, Virginia Regional Freight Study Now Underway - 2/25/2013
The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) is currently undertaking an update to their 2007 regional freight study. The 2013 update will focus on commodity...

Freight Trip Generation and Land Use: Report and Electronic Database Available - 1/30/2013
The Transportation Research Board has published a joint National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) report entitled Freight Trip...

Interactions between Transportation Capacity, Economic Systems, and Land Use - 1/03/2013
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) has published a report under their second Strategic Highways Research Project (SHRP 2) reviewing interactions between transportation capacity, economic systems,...

The 710: Spine of LA Freeway System and its Missing Link - 10/10/2012
The Long Beach Freeway (710) in Los Angeles, California has had a new 4.5 mile stretch of roadway proposed, but not completed for decades. This...

Residents Protest Freight Trucks Driving Shortcuts - 9/24/2012
Although there is a designated truck route between Interstate 5 and St. Johns Bridge in Portland, Oregon, many truck drivers are taking a shortcut through...

Open Houses Scheduled for Rail Corridor Study - 9/12/2012
The Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization (YMPO) in Yuma, Arizona is leading the Yuma County Rail Corridor and Logistics Study to identify ideas for the development...

Three Part Series: Metropolitan Chicago's Freight Cluster - 8/28/2012
Between a quarter and a third of all freight tonnage in the United States originates, passes, or terminates in the Chicago region. Because of this...

Minnesota Unveils a Compelling 50-Year Vision and Guiding Principles for Transportation - 6/21/2012
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has developed a two minute update video on their Minnesota Go initiative which looks to develop a 50-year transportation...

Intermodal Freight Center Could Help Northwest Indiana Capitalize On Industry - 6/06/2012
A recent regional transportation study found that the freight hauling and logistics industry generates an estimated $3.2 billion in annual sales revenue and either directly...

Study Will Detail Minnesota Freight Movement - 5/11/2012
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is currently investigating improvements to the Winona-area freight industry as a part of a six-part series of studies to determine...

Freight Transportation and Economic Development: Planning for the Panama Canal Expansion - 5/01/2012
The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation has released a report providing an overview on the possible effects of the Panama Canal expansion....

Identification and Evaluation of Freight Demand Factors - 3/30/2012
The Transportation Research Board's (TRB) Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) developed a web-only document entitled Identification and Evaluation of Freight Demand Factors which highlights variables...

Preserving and Protecting Freight Infrastructure and Routes - 3/30/2012
The Transportation Research Board's (TRB) Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) has published Report 16: Preserving and Protecting Freight Infrastructure and Routes. The report provides decision...

Defining the Washington State Truck Intermodal Network - 3/07/2012
The Washington Department of Transportation has published a report presenting recommendations for criteria to be used in defining the Washington State truck intermodal network in...

Houston Business Held Back by Truck Shortages - 3/07/2012
Although the Port of Houston ranks first in the U.S. in ports handling foreign waterborne tonnage and second in terms of overall tonnage, there are...

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