Freight Performance Measure Primer

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Contact Information: Freight Feedback at FreightFeedback@dot.gov

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Operations
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590

FHWA-HOP-16-089

October 2017

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Table of Contents

[ Notice and Quality Assurance Statement ] [ Technical Report Documentation Page ][ List Of Abbreviations And Symbols ]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
	BACKGROUND ON FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
	WHY MEASURE ASPECTS OF FREIGHT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE?
CHAPTER 2. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
	FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASURES
	LINKAGE OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES TO ECONOMIC IMPACTS
	LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
CHAPTER 3. AVAILABLE DATA
	FREQUENTLY USED FREIGHT DATA
CHAPTER 4. COMMON FREIGHT MEASURES
	FREIGHT DEMAND MEASURES
	FREIGHT EFFICIENCY – HIGHWAY SPEEDS, AVERAGE SPEEDS, RELIABILITY
	FREIGHT MODELING
	RAILROAD SPEEDS AND RELIABILITY
	FREIGHT SYSTEM CONDITION INDICATORS
	FREIGHT ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES
	FREIGHT SAFETY MEASURES
	FREIGHT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MEASURES AND ANALYSIS
	FREIGHT ACCESSIBILITY MEASURES
	INFRASTRUCTURE-BASED AND NETWORK MEASURES
	AREA-BASED MEASURES
	FUTURE PROGRAMS (FREIGHT FLUIDITY)
CHAPTER 5. CHALLENGES WITH FREIGHT PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
	SETTING FREIGHT GOALS
	LACK OF CONSISTENCY
	ABUNDANCE OF INCOMPLETE DATA
	FREIGHT MODELING CAPABILITIES AT THE REGIONAL SCALE
	APPLYING THE MEASURES
	DATA CAPTURE
	INTEGRATING DATA
	SUSTAINING FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASURES
CHAPTER 6. BEST PRACTICES AND RECOMMENDED FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASURES
	BEST PRACTICES: PRIVATE SECTOR
	BEST PRACTICES: PUBLIC SECTOR
	RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A COMPREHENSIVE FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT PROGRAM
REFERENCES
APPENDIX A. HISTORY OF FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASURES
APPENDIX B. FREIGHT STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWEES AND INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
APPENDIX C. FREQUENTLY USED FREIGHT DATA
APPENDIX D. ADDITIONAL AVAILABLE HIGHWAY DATA
APPENDIX E. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
APPENDIX F. TRUCK PARKING METRICS
APPENDIX G. INNOVATIVE RESEARCH: USING FUEL TAXES TO TRACK TRUCK MOVEMENT

List of Figures

Figure 1.	Chart. Florida Department of Transportation performance measures graphic.
Figure 2.	Photo. Truck delivery on streetcar tracks, Washington, D.C.
Figure 3.	Photo. Urban freight delivery, Washington, D.C.
Figure 4.	Map. U.S. Department of Transportation major freight corridors.
Figure 5.	Photo. Congestion due to construction on I-81, Pennsylvania.
Figure 6.	Map. Philly Freight Finder screenshot showing travel time index and average speeds for selected time period.
Figure 7.	Map. European map of major roadways.
Figure 8.	Equation. Travel Time Equivalent.
Figure 9.	Map. Average truck speeds on select interstate highways, 2010.
Figure 10.	Chart. A taxonomy of the most common area-based measurement approaches.
Figure 11.	Equation. Generic form of an area-based measure.
Figure 12.	Diagram. Fuel vendor location and average distance of truck travel.
Figure 13.	Diagram. Roadway segments attributed to fuel vendor.