A first in the nation, MAASTO states have collaborated to increase truck weights across the region for emergency divisible loads during declared disasters. See the AASHTO Journal article (at this link) for details on the regional agreement. The MAFC project report can be found under MAFC Research (here).
The 2021 MAFC annual virtual meeting examines transitions and opportunities in urban freight movement, freight resiliency, freight technologies, and automation. Session one with Dr. Anne Goodchild, Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Director, Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics Center at the University of Washington was held November 4th, and is available under the events tab.
Dr. Goodchild’s presentation is available at this link.
The objective of this study is to review the STB rail waybill data, analyze it, and examine the adequacy of the data for state freight rail planning and operations decision-making. The study reviews waybill data, focusing on aspects including accessibility, composition, quality, and usability of the data. It compares the waybill data against alternate databases, specifically the Association of American Railroads (AAR) rail data, to determine the waybill data’s strengths and shortcomings, and suggest where alternate sources should supplement the waybill data depending on analytical needs. Given the user demand for timely and detailed freight rail data, the ease of procurement, use, and potential deficiencies were examined. Read the full report at: MAFC 24 Analysis of Surface Transportation Board Waybill Data for Freight Planning and Operations.
This article was originally posted on January 7, 2020.
MAFC has completed a Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASTO) Regional Truck Parking Inventory project for the MAASTO Motor Carriers Committee and the Standing Committee on Highway Transport examining and mapping truck parking availability, parking amenities, and lot information. The report summarizes public parking for over size over weight (OSOW) and standard trucks on major freight corridors in the ten state region, and includes information on availability of parking that allows for OSOW transitions at state lines. Along with the region’s efforts in Truck Parking Information Management Systems (TPIMS) and overall efforts by the states to efficiently address an increasing need for parking, the OSOW Support for MAASTO SCOHT and MCC report represents another step toward MAASTO States work to provide safe and sufficient truck parking. Find the report on the Projects page of this website or navigate directly to the report using this link, and the appendices at this link .
MAFC technical representatives from 10 member states met in Indianapolis, Indiana for the MAFC 2019 Annual Meeting. The meeting was held August 12-14 in conjunction with the MAASTO 2019 conference. Freight topics included vehicle platooning, truck parking and TPIMS, marine freight planning and impacts, blockchain and new technology for freight payments, and connected and automated vehicles.
MAFC attendees held their annual dinner and meeting at nearby Big Woods Speedway, and toured the FedEx Express hub.
To view and download slides and other materials, view the web page for this event.
MAFC annual meeting will be held in conjunction with the Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASTO) annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, Aug. 12-14, 2019. View the agenda here: 2019 Annual Meeting MAFC Agenda
In August, the MAFC technical representatives from the 10 member states met in Traverse City, Michigan for the 2018 MAFC Annual Meeting. This meeting was held in conjunction with the MAASTO 2018 conference, which dedicated a track to freight topics throughout the two-day event. The content for the breakout sessions in this track was driven by MAFC members.
Freight topics included truck parking and TPIMS, shortline rail, marine freight planning, freight funding, and freight customer service.
The MAFC attendees held their annual dinner and meeting at nearby Black Star Farms on Tuesday, August 28th.
To download slides and other materials, view the web page for this event.
The Mid-America Freight Coalition, in cooperation with the MAASTO Working Group on Automation and Platooning, has published its report, Developing a Regional Regulatory Approach to Truck Platooning in the MAASTO Region: A Literature Review of the History, Progress, and Benefits of Truck Platooning.
Download the Truck Platooning Report
This report provides an overview of the development of truck platooning and automation as well as the potential benefits from the implementation of truck platooning.
In an effort to establish a common or complementary set of regulations across the region, legislative actions developed in the MAASTO states that are designed to ease the adoption of this technology are examined. Nine areas of potential conflict between states and platooning regulations are identified across the MAASTO region.
The report concludes that the adoption of truck platooning is accelerating, but agencies and regulations may hinder this progress.
The overall goal is to develop a Midwest Truck Platooning Regulatory Model that provides for harmonization of regulations governing truck platooning across the MAASTO region.
A brochure is also available that gives a concise overview of the report’s findings in a graphical format. This brochure may be helpful in conversations with state legislators or other decision makers.
The members of MAFC welcome Dr. Soyoung Ahn as the organization’s new executive director. In this role, Dr. Ahn succeeds Professor Teresa Adams, who resigned from the position in which she served for a decade. Dr. Ahn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where the MAFC staff are headquartered.
Dr. Ahn brings her expertise in traffic flow analysis and modeling, (numerical) simulations, and traffic control using emerging technologies, as well as freight operations and planning to the coalition. Her research involves:
Her research has been sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Mid-America Freight Coalition (MAFC), Transportation Research Board SHRP II, Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiative, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, USDOT, Arizona Department of Transportation, and Oregon Transportation Research and Education Center. She is the Chair of TRB’s Traffic Flow Theory and Characteristics Committee (AHB 45), an Associate Editor for Transportation Research Part C, an editorial board member for Transportation Research Part B, and a member of International Advisory Board of International Symposium on Traffic and Transportation Theory (ISTTT).
Dr. Ahn received her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2005, and was on the faculty at Arizona State University before she joined the UW in 2013.
The purpose of this report is to provide an understanding of truck platooning and how this technology can be adopted across MAASTO freight corridors in a uniform manner.
Coordinated regulations across state boundaries will better serve and meet the needs of the industry. The overall goal is to develop a Midwest Truck Platooning Regulatory Model that provides for harmonization of regulations governing truck platooning across the MAASTO region. This effort to “harmonize” is somewhat driven by the historic and current status of OSOW regulations across the country.
Often there are state-by-state differences that hinder efficient movement of oversized loads. Placing mixed regulations across the region will decrease the efficiency and slow the adoption of truck platooning.