Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute Studies Strategic Freight Transportation Analysis
The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at North Dakota State University, Fargo, is developing a strategic freight transportation analysis for the state's agricultural commodities and agricultural processed products. The goal is to develop more efficient and effective transportation and logistical systems for marketing the bounty of North Dakota agriculture. This will allow North Dakota producers and processors to become more competitive.
The biennial study, currently underway, concentrates on grain and oilseeds. Among the issues being addressed are:
- The efficiency and impact of 110-car shuttle trains
- The impact of heavier rail cars
- Changing intermodal trends in marketing commodities and products
- The impact of these changes on the ability to add value to the agricultural economy through processing of commodities
The analysis will add value for North Dakotans by allowing private and public decision makers to have better information regarding transportation investments and operations. It will provide producers with more insight in decisions on what to grow. It will provide the country elevator industry with information regarding expansion and consolidation and it will allow processors to more confidently develop new products and expand existing product lines. All of this will allow the state to be better able to develop and to maintain the transportation infrastructure.
Among those organizations supporting the project are the North Dakota Grain Dealers, North Dakota Mill and Elevator, North Dakota Barley Council, Spring Wheat Bakers, Agricultural Products Utilization Commission, North Dakota Farmers Union, North Dakota Wheat Commission, General Mills, Red River Valley and Western Railroad, Northern Plains Railroad, North Dakota Department of Transportation, Mountain-Plains Consortium and the United States Department of Agriculture.
UGPTI Leads Effort to Document Short Line and Regional Railroad Industry Contributions
The short line and regional railroad industry makes a significant contribution toward the preservation of rail service and the movement of essential freight traffic in the United States. The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI) leads an effort to document and report this contribution through the development and establishment of a Regional and Short Line Railroad Information and Analysis System.
Initiated in 1993, this project incorporated a partnership with the American Short Line Railroad Association, the Mountain-Plains Consortium (MPC), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Institute. The United States Department of Agriculture replaced the MPC in 1998 and is the lead agency sponsoring the project.
The information system database was created through an extensive survey of the short line industry. Each year, short line survey data is analyzed and reported in an Annual Data Profile of the short line industry. The database, located at UGPTI, has information from 1993-1996 and 1998-1999.
The annual data profile reports statistics by railroad type and region, and uses railroad definitions that conform to those of the Surface Transportation Board and the Association of American Railroads. The Annual Data Profile may include:
- Estimated industry totals
- Current industry profiles
- Customer profiles
- Traffic profiles
- Physical profiles
- Equipment
- Finances
- Operating Statistics
- Employee benefits
- Computer systems
The database is also utilized for specialized data analyses for industry participants, industry-related entities and short line industry researchers. The specialized data analyses are approved by the ASLRRA and developed at UGPTI.
All database information is strictly confidential and remains under the ownership of the reporting railroad. The ASLRRA or FRA does not have access to individual railroad data.
