The study provides information to aid transportation decision makers in planning and programming for future commodity transportation needs. The study describes recent trends in potato production and processing within the state; examines the logistics of potato transportation, storage, and processing...

In an attempt to provide some of the information that will enable North Dakota firms and policymakers to make better decisions, this project addressed four transportation issues, which are critical to the future of the state's agricultural sector: (1) the impact of 110-car shuttle trains on the marketing...

North Dakota's grain producers rely on an efficient rail system to move their products to export and domestic markets. A recent shift to larger grain hopper cars may threaten the viability of the state's light-density branch line network. This study simulates the impacts of handling larger rail cars...

This study provides a snapshot of truck/rail container intermodal shipping into and out of North Dakota. The study revealed the benefits of intermodal transportation including lower overall transportation costs, increased economic productivity and efficiency, reduced congestion and burden on over-stressed...

One significant consideration when examining a business venture is to define the network for the product. The network design should take into account the number, size, and location of suppliers, producers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers.The spreadsheet model allows consideration of a number...

The purpose of this component of the Strategic Freight Analysis was to provide a market-based synopsis of the potential impact of shuttle train shipments on North Dakota's local grain industry.

Because of the differentiated car program types, it is essential to understand the costs and benefits of each of them. Depending on your situation, a combination of different programs may have the best return for each organization. By providing descriptions of programs, decision makers are able to better...

This report contains a brief description of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and ITS technologies for Commercial Vehicle Operations (ITS/CVO). Second, it discusses previous literature regarding benefits of ITS/CVO for motor carriers, as well as managing the change due to technology. In addition...

Future customer demands, service availability, and industry investment decisions will shape the modal marketing decisions of the grain marketing sector. The Delphi survey technique is used to engage a cross-section of grain industry experts in sharing opinions regarding future trends for service, investment...

An economic engineering model was developed to estimate start-up and operating costs of an intermodal facility located on a short line railroad. The model developed in this study has many useful features. Costs can be estimated for different equipment configurations and sizes of facilities. Sensitivity...