Continued development and efficient performance of the nation's freight transportation system is vital to maintaining a strong U.S. economy and sustaining our nation's competitive position in the global economy. Yet, increasing congestion on our nation's roads and rail lines threatens to undermine the efficiency of our freight transportation system. Although the Department of Transportation (DOT) has taken some steps to enhance freight mobility, there is growing concern that additional action is needed. To assist the Congress in enhancing national freight mobility, GAO reviewed (1) factors that contribute to constrained freight mobility and their effects in areas with nationally significant freight flows, and (2) approaches to address freight mobility in those areas and the challenges decision makers face in implementing those approaches. GAO analyzed freight transportation data and interviewed stakeholders in four areas with large freight flows. A number of factors contribute to constrained freight mobility and, together, these factors have significant adverse impacts. First, growing freight transportation demand decreases freight mobility. Volumes of goods shipped by trucks and railroads, for example, are projected to increase by 98 percent and 88 percent, respectively, by 2035. Second, the capacity of our transportation system is constrained by other factors, including the cost of surmounting geographic barriers, such as mountain ranges and waterways, population density, and urban land-use development patterns. Third, freight mobility is limited by inefficiencies in how infrastructure is used, such as poor road signal timing and prices paid by users that do not align with infrastructure costs, resulting in congestion. The widening gap between the volumes of goods and available system capacity is increasing transportation congestion. Constrained freight mobility has adverse economic costs for consumers, shippers, and carriers, as well as in urban centers where congestion exacerbates environmental pollution and increases health risks, such as respiratory illnesses.


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    Titel :

    Freight Transportation: National Policy and Strategies Can Help Improve Freight Mobility


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2008


    Format / Umfang :

    59 pages


    Medientyp :

    Report


    Format :

    Keine Angabe


    Sprache :

    Englisch





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