This study was undertaken in order to establish a regional approach to improving freight transportation through the Upper Midwest corridor. Improving freight flows through the region can improve reliability and enhance competitiveness. This study examines several aspects of regional freight transportation including, capacity, performance measures, administrative issues, demand/usage and best practices. The project was funded by six states in the region, who, through their departments of Transportation, have contributed to a pooled fund to finance the majority of the work. These states include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

"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 editors as well as the authors of these essays should be commended for bringing together and discussing within this volume many of the important issues facing globalized freight movements. Robert Martin, The Professional Geographer . . . Leinbach and Capineri have produced an interesting and useful addition to the literature on this massive subject. . . Anthony Beresfore, International Journal of Maritime History Globalization is a fashionable issue. But solid research on the conditions and implications for freight transport is badly missing. This volume contains a unique set of high-quality contributions on freight transport in the age of globalization. It offers a wealth of original insights to both the research and policy-making community. Peter Nijkamp, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands The worldwide movement of freight has emerged as one of the most critical and dynamic aspects of the transport sector. The contributors to this study examine the current state of global freight transport, with an emphasis on Europe and North America and their extra-regional linkages. These original contributions synthesize existing knowledge, highlight new developments, problems and possible solutions, and underscore the need for further research. The book s starting point is the fact that freight transport is the main element supporting global supply and commodity chains, from the transformation of raw materials to market distribution and after-market services. However, as the authors point out, the rising costs associated with security and various other constraints, as well as the complexity of getting goods delivered, is adding to profit pressures faced by manufacturers around the globe. Despite the application of technology and increasingly efficient solutions to the movement of freight, constraint points and conditions obstructing smooth operations and sustainability have developed. These difficulties affect both the environment and economic growth. Examining the issues from four critical perspectives intermodality, e-commerce and technology, logistics, and sustainability Globalized Freight Transport captures the concern for the viability of freight systems and the ways they are impacting the global economy. This cutting-edge study will be of great interest to students and scholars of transportation, as well as to public sector policymakers and private sector managers.

TRB's National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) Report 1: Public and Private Sector Interdependence in Freight Transportation Markets is designed as a primer on relationships between public sector and private sector stakeholders in the freight transportation industry. The report explores the freight industry through the use of examples, case studies, and a broad-based examination of the mutually dependent issues facing public and private investment decision makers.

TRB Special Report 291: Great Lakes Shipping, Trade, and Aquatic Invasive Species reviews existing research and efforts to date to reduce aquatic invasive species introductions into the Great Lakes and identifies ways that these efforts could be strengthened toward an effective solution. Since its opening in 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway has provided a route into the Great Lakes not only for trade, but also unfortunately for aquatic invasive species (AIS) that have had severe economic and environmental impacts on the region. Prevention measures have been introduced by the governments of Canada and the United States, but reports of newly discovered AIS continue, and only time will tell what impacts these species may have. Pressure to solve the problem has even led to proposals that the Seaway be closed. The committee that developed the report recommends that trade should continue on the St. Lawrence Seaway but with a more effective suite of prevention measures to reduce the introduction of aquatic invasive species that evolves over time in response to lessons learned and new technologies.