Developing Freight Performance Measures At U.S. Canadian Border Crossings

Bruce Lambert

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations3

We all support:

Verifying the nature of traffic flows across borders and their linkages to supply chains, commodities and routing

Applying findings and data to national policy and local planning studies

Providing output to state, local, and industry partners

Extending coverage & doing concurrent (complimentary) R&D with Canada & Mexico

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations4

Performance Measures

Performance Measures provide mechanism for understanding system performance.

Given limited budgets, etc., another tool for informing investment decisions at a national, state or local level.

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 requires U.S. federal agencies to compare program goals against outcomes.

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations5

Measuring Improvements in the Movement of Highway and Intermodal Freight - Summary

Cost of highway freight per ton-mile,Cargo insurance rates,Point-to-point travel times on selected freight-significant highways,Hours of delay per 1,000 vehicle miles on selected freight-significant highways,Crossing times at international borders,Condition of connectors between NHS and intermodal terminals,Customer satisfaction.

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations6

Tracking Changes in Travel Times & Speeds by Location Can Provide:

Identification of General Bottlenecks & Impediments

Understanding of Corridor Flows

Changes by Corridor (annually, seasonal, monthly, daily)

Model Calibration Data

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations7

Four Related Efforts on Performance Measurements and Border Crossings

2001 Border Review Assessment

Border Wizard

Transport Canada Border Crossing Study

Travel Time in Freight Significant Corridors

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations8

2001 Border Reviews:Assessment of 7 International Border Crossings

Selected 7 Border Crossings (4 along Canadian Border, and 3 along the Mexican Border)

Data collection was accomplished by reviewers noting license plates at the queuing point in exporting country and clearance point in importing country on release from primary)

One time study but provided useful data

Report is available at http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations9

Border Crossing Study – 7 Crossings inbound into U.S.

Average Time Buffer Index

U.S. – Canadian BridgesAmbassador 21 66% Blaine 17 106%Blue Water 34 135%Peace 23 257%U.S. – Mexican BridgesEl Paso 37 108%Laredo 31 76%Otay Mesa 35 84%

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations10

Border Wizard

Cross Cutting Federal Agency Work – FHWA, GSA, Customs and Border Protection

Simulation tool to Coordinate Improvements at border crossings

Linkages to other models to examine transportation activities at border crossings

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations11

Transport Canada - Border Wait-Time Project

TC staff with industry cooperation used existing truck fleet GPS to estimate wait-times at the U.S./Canadian border. The singular purpose was to demonstrate that GPS-generated Tractor

logs are a productive and potentially abundant source of empirical data on wait-times and congestion patterns.

All carrier/shipper/consignment identifiers have been scrubbed from the source data. Only a fragment of the trip/tractor log has been compiled for analysis.

The results to be used for working purposes only, in an effort to further expand related R&D efforts of mutual interest to government agencies and the trucking industry.

The results will not be used under any circumstances to monitor or audit a carrier’s operating practice.

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations12

Tracking System/Service Options Considered in Canadian Study

Two Technology Options Explored – CanCom Satellite system Truck-mounted GPS-units

Both are similar in many respects – realtime, polling, etc. One functional difference is of particular relevance to this study: CanCom position polling done via traditional satellite triangulation

typically at 1hr. intervals, the frequency can be increased, but only at considerable cost

GPS units generate polls, with time-stamp & lat/long coordinates, every 1-2 miles (in this instance), depending on speed

units can be programmed to initiate polls at specific locations, or set of lat/long coordinates.

Border Zone Schematic

Example for US-bound traffic

Zone 3 (ON) Zone 2 (ON) Zone 1 (ON) Zone 1 (MI)

Bridge Crossing

i.e. Border Crossing Zone

Transit Zone

Transit Zone = Zone 3 (ON) to Zone 1 (ON)

Border Crossing Zone = Zone 1 (ON) to Zone 1 (MI)

Total Crossing Time (TCT) = Transit Zone Time + B. Crossing Zone Time

Border Crossing Time (BCT) = B. Crossing Zone Time

Bluewater Bridge (MI) Average Crossing Times by Weekday

024

68

1012

1416

TCT BCT

Bluewater Bridge (MI) Average Crossing Times by Month

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

TCT BCT

Bluewater Bridge (ON) Average Crossing Times by Month

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Avg. TCT Avg. BCT

Bluewater Bridge (ON) Average Crossing Times by Weekday

0

5

10

1520

25

30

35

40

Avg. TCT Avg. BCT

TCT = Total Crossing Time BCT = Border Crossing Time

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations15

The DOT FPM – Travel Time In Freight Significant Corridors

Study on Travel Time supports two freight performance measures for FHWA and USDOT: Global connectivity Travel time freight significant corridors

Submit annual number(s) at end of fiscal year.

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations16

Steps in Travel Time Study

Identification of Freight-Significant Corridors

Select Appropriate Performance Measures

Examine Optimal Tracking System

Work with Test Carriers to estimate alpha results

Extend work in Beta Test to one day of “real time” data

Develop GIS and data integration steps to improve data quality and coverage

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations17

Selecting an Optimal Tracking System

Technologies Considered (must be physically related to the truck):Satellite-Based SystemsTerrestrial Wireless SystemsHybrid Systems On-Board Systems Fixed-Site Systems

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations18

Selected Tracking System: Satellite

Determined to provide the greatest utility for developing and tracking FPMs

Use existing technology

Data collected by trucks

Can collect data on non instrumented segments

Extensive National Coverage

Untapped dataset by public agencies

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations20

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations21

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations22

Next Steps on Border Crossings Being Considered in Travel Time Study

Match Terrestrial Systems with Satellites Technology Geofencing corridors around Border Crossings (30 miles?) Matching flows with positions through the Border Examining more detailed, local data for calibration

purposes

Need to retain the queue functions and connection to corridors –total time versus border clearance time

Reality - There will be a time component to cross borders, as certain functions must, and can only be done, at the border facility.

What can we do:

1. Manage Expectations

2. Improve System Operations

3. Increase Predictability /Reliability

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations24

What Measures Do We Need, and

How Do We Develop DataDo We want a common data (performance measure) for all segments of the border relevant for all users?

Can We work with inspection agencies on data and joint performance measures?

Can We agree on the appropriate metrics? Average Travel Time by direction, day, and crossing Buffer Index or reliability

Can We develop data exchange programs using existing technologies on both sides of the border?

Can We develop the Public-Private Partnerships necessary for using truck based information?

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations25

Your Involvement – Some Next Steps

Principle Costs - Programming Systems and Procuring data

Who leads in coordinating efforts?

Do We have the patience to develop data and research tools through a steady incremental effort? Time to access, collect, calibrate data with industry support Time to accumulate data for benchmarking

Could We develop/disseminate data and travel time estimates, with a goal of ultimately sharing real time data?

Can We focus on infrastructure needs, not only on inspection processing at facilities – not a me versus them? Is there a candidate corridor/facility to examine?

Federal Highway AdministrationOffice of Freight Management and Operations26

Summary

Available tracking technologies are a rich, untapped source of empirical data on track operations.Several studies demonstrate a technical proof of concept - now want to move to an implementing/operating phase. We can work together to develop common data (performance measures) on travel time through border facilities and share work with peers and industry partners.We can integrate data collection and analysis across many applications and jurisdictions.We can nurture joint-venture efforts between partners (FHWA, TC, States/Provinces, Trucking firms, etc.).

FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations, USDOT

http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight

Bruce Lambert

202-366-4241

Bruce.Lambert@fhwa.dot.gov