Freight Planning

Regional Freight Planning in Baltimore

Jocelyn Jones Baltimore
Metropolitan Council
410-732-0500, x1049
jjones@baltometro.org

March 21, 2001

Overview

About Baltimore
Freight Movement Task Force
Useful Resources

About Baltimore

Five counties & Baltimore City
Major interstates: I-70, I-95, I-83
Port of Baltimore (POB)
BWI Airport
Railroads: CSX, NS, shortlines

map of the Baltimore region

Freight Movement Task Force

Established in 1994
Incorporates freight issues into the MPO planning process
Four meetings per year
Private sector chair & vice-chair

Task Force Fact Sheet

An Advisory Committee of the Baltimore Metropolitan Planning Organization

Purpose	Provide the freight movement community with a voice in the regional transportation planning process by: Improving communication and information/technology among public and private sector freight movement interests. Identifying short-term impediments and recommending improvements for the efficient, effective, environmentally-sensitive, and safe movement of freight. Providing input into the allocation of long-term transportation resources.
Participants	Trucking firms, railroad operators, port operators, airport operator, freight shippers and receivers, local and national interest groups, economic development organizations, academicians, Maryland Department of Transportation, Maryland State Police, U.S. Department of Transportation, and Baltimore Metropolitan Council.
Products	Meetings: Occur quarterly for presentations, discussions, and decision-making. Reports: Freight Mobility Issues and Recommendations for the 1998 Long Range Plan, Quarterly Freight Activity Newsletter. Subcommittee on Truck Parking: Worked with the Maryland Department of Transportation to develop new truck stop signs and revise truckers' map.
Geographic Area	The Baltimore metropolitan area includes Baltimore City, Annapolis, and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard counties (2.4 million population, 1.4 million jobs). Relevant issues outside of the area are also examined, as appropriate.
Chair Vice-Chair	Robert Utz, Director of Logistics, McCormick & Company, Inc. vacant
Contact	Jocelyn Jones, Transportation Planner, Baltimore Metropolitan Council, 410/732-0500, ext. 1049; fax: 410/732-6522; e-mail: jjones@baltometro.org.

Recent Meeting Topics

Airport: air cargo & passenger growth, Fed Ex tour
Port: dredging, terminal operations
Rail: Conrail merger, state rail plan
Consultant perspective on international & regional issues
Woodrow Wilson Bridge status

Task Force Activities

Operational Focus
Truck Parking Subcommittee
Freight Trends
Intermodal Connectors

Truck Parking Subcommittee

Safety issue: Trucks park along highway shoulders and vehicles occasionally run into the back of them.
Is there a need for more truck parking spaces along I-95?
Major participants: state police, private truck stop operators (TSOs), two truck associations, MD DOT & modal administrations
Key point: subcommittee chair had relationships with chair of TSO council and state police
Information collected:
Interviews with TSOs revealed that spaces are available
TSOs identified spaces available at various times of day
State police identified where trucks park on shoulders
Information collected (cont'd): Many big signs advertise rest areas, few little signs advertise TSOs State's truckers map was outdated, difficult to get, & cost $1

Truck Parking Subcommittee

photo of a Truck Services sign

photo of a Truckers Map cover

Recommendations:
New signs related to truck stops
Revise truckers map, improve distribution, & offer for free
Review enforcement practices, if no change takes place

Freight Trends

*MARYLAND MOVES*
A quarterly fact sheet highlighting freight
movement activities in the Baltimore region
First Quarter 2000 (Jan - Mar)

AIRPORTS						PORT OF BALTIMORE

BWI Metric Tons	1st Qtr. 00	% Chng. 1st Qtr. 99				Short Tons	4th Qtr. 99	% Chng. 4th Qtr. 98	YTD 1999
Mail	9,586	-12.6%				Total Cargo	5,850,164	-5.4%	22,964,602
						Imports	3,942,909	-1.6%	15,501,991
Freight	47,945	5.8%			Exports		1,907,255	-12.4%	7,462,611
Domestic	44,998	6.5%
International	2,948	-3.4%			Bulk Cargo		4,545,970	-8.0%	17,579,445
						General Cargo	1,304,194	4.8%	5,385,157

Regional Comparison	BWI	IAD	DCA			Value (Thousands of Dollars)	4th Qtr. 99	% Chng. 4th Qtr. 98	YTD 1999
Mail	29.2%	48.6%	22.2%			Total Value	$4,708,405	1.8%	$19,288,632
Freight	37.5%	61.1%	1.4%			Imports	$3,511,289	15.7%	$14,039,332
						Exports	$1,197,116	-24.7%	$5,249,300
BWI is Baltimore-Washington International Airport
IAD is Dulles International Airport						Bulk Cargo	$320,201	-15.3%	$1,385,108
DCA is Reagan Washington National Airport						General Cargo	$4,388,204	3.4%	$17,903,524

Source: Maryland Aviation Administration						Port data lags by one quarter.

						Source: Maryland Port Administration


RAILROADS						TRUCKING

Carloads	1st Qtr. 00	% Chng. 1st Qtr. 99				Total Vehicles & % Truck Activity	1st Qtr. 00	% Chng. 1st Qtr. 99
Canton	1,639	-11.7%			Hatem Bridge *		2,052,502	-3.4%
CSXT *	1,335,797	15.7%			% Truck Activity		4.9%	6.9%
Maryland Midland	2,179	37.9%			Bay Bridge *		4,742,976	2.4%
Norfolk Southern *	1,178,196	41.4%			% Truck Activity		9.8%	-4.1%
Patapsco & Back Rivers	27,596	10.9%		Key Bridge			2,523,351	1.1%
						% Truck Activity	9.9%	6.5%
Intermodal Units		% Chng.				Harbor Tunnel	5,442,016	6.6%
	1st Qtr. 00	1st Qtr. 99				% Truck Activity	3.7%	2.1%
CSXT *	509,254	109.4%			Fort McHenry Tunnel		9,462,440	4.7%
Norfolk Southern *	511,787	43.4%				% Truck Activity	10.6%	2.1%
						JFK Memorial Hwy. *	5,937,544	2.8%
* Figures are systemwide and not limited to the Baltimore area.						% Truck Activity	16.1%	4.1%
Intermodal Units include trailers and containers.
Effective June 1999, CSX & NS began operating Conrail lines.						* Two-way volumes are estimated by doubling one-way traffic counts.
						Truck activity includes heavy commercial vehicles with 3+ axles.			Sources: Association of American Railroads, Canton Railroad,

Maryland Midland Railway, and Patapsco & Back Rivers Railroad						Source: Maryland Transportation Authority


Prepared by the Freight Movement Task Force, a committee of the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board
For more information, contact Jocelyn Jones, 410-732-0500, ext. 1049, or jjones@baltometro.org

Intermodal Connectors

March Workshop to identify potential improvements on connectors and other local roads
Invitees: truck, rail, port, air cargo, econ. dev., & public works reps; intermodal terminal mgrs; logistics mgrs; TSOs

map of Maryland Freight Intermodal Connectors

Intermodal Connectors

Participants are asked to identify improvements in advance of workshop, develop prioritization criteria, encouraged to participate in site visits
Improvements on intermodal connectors are reviewed by consultant, local public works to review others

Useful Resources

Connect with peers: mailing lists, attend meetings
Publications: Traffic World, modal newsletters/magazines
Other Groups: Council of Logistics Management, Traffic Club
Site Visits
Training: Building the Partnership

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