United States-European Commission Urban Freight Twinning Initiative: Compendium of Project Summaries
Overview of Second Annual Urban Freight Roundtable at 2017 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting

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INTRODUCTION

The efficient movement of goods to, from, and through our Nation's cities is essential to our economy. Current economic and demographic trends suggest urban goods movement will become even more important in the future, presenting both challenges and opportunities. By 2045, the U.S. economy is expected to double in size, and the nation's population is projected to increase by roughly 70 million people.¹ In tandem with this projected growth in population and economic output, freight movements across all modes are expected to grow by roughly 40 percent by 2045.²

This growth in overall freight demand will put increased pressure on infrastructure throughout the country, particularly in cities. The expected strain on urban transportation infrastructure will occur in part because most of the projected population growth in the coming decades is expected to occur in urban areas. In addition, the country's 100 largest metropolitan areas drive national goods trade, with more than 80 percent of all goods either starting or ending in these areas. In total, $16.2 trillion in domestic and international goods flow annually through the largest metropolitan areas.³

Many of the country's gateways for international trade are located in or near our cities. In 2015, 14 of the top 25 international trade gateways were located in the country's 25 most populous metropolitan areas (e.g., New York, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Houston).⁴ Transportation agencies in urban areas must work with their constituents, as well as with partners at all levels of government and in the private sector, to plan for and address landside freight flows to and from these gateways.

This compendium includes summaries of ongoing or recently completed initiatives from around the globe that were shared during the 2017 Urban Freight Roundtable. The roundtable is an annual event held as a follow-on to the Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), sponsored by FHWA, in cooperation with the EC. A wide variety of strategies are presented in this compendium ranging from research and planning projects to pilot demonstrations and policy efforts to address the challenges and opportunities posed by the growing demand for urban freight.

The annual roundtables are part of an ongoing research coordination (or "twinning") effort between FHWA and the EC on the topic of urban freight. In addition to the roundtables, FHWA and the EC are collaborating to offer additional opportunities for researchers and practitioners to share innovations in the management of urban freight flows.

The initiative summaries presented in this compendium were developed by the lead agency or organization responsible for implementing each project, or by agencies and organizations that funded the projects. FHWA compiled the summaries with the overall goal of encouraging an information exchange within the global urban freight community.