"TRB's National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) Report 17: Multimodal Freight Transportation Within the Great Lakes--Saint Lawrence Basin describes the current multimodal freight transportation system within this bi-national region--Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, and Quebec--and its importance to regional, United States, and Canadian economies. The report also analyzes the system's overall performance and related opportunities and constraints to improving performance and to meet projected freight flows. The report includes an analysis of each mode's capacity and the major commodities each of them moves; the barriers and constraints that impact each mode's ability to move cargo; the performance implications in terms of major commodity supply chains (coal, automotive parts and machinery, containerized consumer goods, grains, and iron ore); and a strategic freight planning process for multimodal transport chain performance going forward."--Publisher's description.

At head of title: National Cooperative Freight Research Program.

The objectives of this project were to review currently used methods of evaluating the economics of alternative transportation systems, develop a framework within which to evaluate the economics of alternative multimodal metropolitan transportation systems, and develop quantification methods for such factors as accessibility and capacity that relate them to all modes. The research was to include sensitivity analysis to identify those aspects of a modal investment policy that have major impacts on the output variables and therefore should be included in the results presented to transportation decision makers.

The manual is highly organized for ease of use and divided into the following major sections: - Commodity Index (how-to import data for each of the 99 Chapters of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule)- U.S. Customs Entry and Clearance- U.S. Import Documentation- International Banking and Payments (Letters of Credit)- Legal Considerations of Importing- Packing, Shipping & Insurance- Ocean Shipping Container Illustrations and Specifications- 72 Infolists for Importers