Evaluating Economic Mobility and Resilience of Multimodal Freight Operations in a Connected Vehicle Environment

Commercial trucks, freight rails, seaports and airport, which are part of multimodal freight transportation, are indispensable to a nation’s economic competitiveness. The recent enactment of Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) into law in December 2015 recognizes the importance of investment in transportation, particularly for sustained economic growth of freight industry in the United States. The Fast Act will address conditions and performance of multimodal freight transportation system for mobility. Concurrent to the impetus received through the FAST Act is the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT’s) on-going programs in the area of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for freight. The ITS Strategic Plan 2015-2019 of USDOT prioritizes design, testing, and planning for deployment of connected vehicles across the nation. Realizing connected vehicle implementation and advancing automation in the freight industry will be crucial in the success of ITS Strategic Plan, since freight contributes by connecting various industry sectors to the international gateways of the country through a system of multimodal freight network. Thus, within the context of multimodal freight, connected vehicles will command special significance in boosting economic mobility and resilience of freight operations.