As the American economy grows, so does the volume of freight. Expanding supply chains, just-in-time deliveries, and increasing competition means freight demand has grown faster than the population. Over 50 million tons of freight move across the U.S. transportation network every day on truck, train, barge, pipeline, and plane, with each mode responsible for carrying different goods in an interrelated network. Federal grant programs aim to target funding to freight bottlenecks and intermodal connectors while also supporting experiments in drone delivery. At the local level, policymakers are placing emphasis on managing curb space, reducing emissions, and more efficiently using space to deliver packages, food, and other essentials.

1978 White House Strategy Memo on Trucking and Rail Deregulation Proposals

May 13, 2015 | ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION
Briefing papers given to President Carter in anticipation of his December 11, 1978 meeting with Transportation Secretary Brock Adams where...

1975 White House Freight Rail Assistance Decision Memo

May 8, 2015 | ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION
Briefing papers prepared for President Ford in advance of an April 1975 meeting to discuss what kind of freight railroad...

House’s FY 2016 USDOT Appropriations Bill Cuts Discretionary Spending, Freezes Major HTF Accounts; Bans Some Cuba Travel

Apr 28, 2015 | Jeff Davis
April 28, 2015 - The House Appropriations Committee released the full text of the proposed Transportation-Housing appropriations bill for fiscal...

Funding for freight can be a critical element for the next transportation bill

Feb 19, 2015 | Paul Lewis
The United States currently lacks a comprehensive national freight policy. Over the past several years, there has been extensive discussion...

1915 Report of the Joint Committee on Federal Aid to Good Roads

Jan 21, 2015 | ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION
On January 21, 1915, the Congressional Joint Committee on Federal Aid in the Construction of Post Roads issued its final...

Time for Autonomous Vehicles to Disrupt Transportation Planning

Dec 25, 2014 | Carter Templeton
BY MARK McDOWELL Transportation Consultant Over the coming decades autonomous vehicles (AVs) will insinuate themselves into our society and the...

FY 2015 Omnibus Appropriations Up For House Vote Today

Dec 11, 2014 | Jeff Davis
December 11, 2014 - House to vote on FY15 omnibus appropriations; Senate passes Coast Guard reauthorization; Congress clears two aviation...

Overview of Final FY 2015 USDOT Appropriations

Dec 9, 2014 | Jeff Davis
December 9, 2014 - Provides an preliminary overview of appropriations for federal transportation and public works programs in the final...

Congress Returns For Hectic Final Session

Dec 2, 2014 | Jeff Davis
December 2, 2014 - As Congress returns from the Thanksgiving recess to face what is supposed to be the last...

Could Building a Canal In Nicaragua Be the Answer?

Nov 25, 2014 | Carter Templeton
BY AARON J. GELLMAN Professor of Management and Strategy, Northwestern University In 2013, Chinese interests revealed their intentions to construct...

President Nominates NHTSA, STB Heads

Nov 20, 2014 | Jeff Davis
November 20, 2014 - As the USDOT nomination backlog at the White House builds, President Obama in recent days has...

Crude Oil by Rail: The Industry is Changing

Jul 25, 2014 | Carter Templeton
BY STEVEN R. DITMEYER Adjunct Professor of Railway Management, Michigan State University An old adage says the railroad industry is...

Op-Ed: When Investing in Infrastructure, Invest in Freight

The lesson from the 2019 Infrastructure Week is that throwing money at the problem is not enough. Panel discussions, speeches, and presentations this week did not dwell on the proposed multi trillion dollar funding amount but focused rightly on what the goals and objectives of a federal investment…