An intermodal network model of coal distribution in the United States and its economic implications for the inland waterway system Kentucky : final report.

Final reportPDFTech ReportKTC-16 -02/MTIC-8-14-1FCoalCommodity flowCostsEconomic impactsFreight trafficGeographic information systemsInland waterwaysIntermodal transportationPricingRoutesUnited StatesKentuckyUniversity of Kentucky Transportation CenterBlandford, BenjaminGrossardt, TedShouse, MichaelRipy, JohnUniversity of Kentucky Transportation CenterUniversity of Kentucky. College of EngineeringKentucky. Transportation CabinetMultimodal Transportation and Infrastructure ConsortiumUS Transportation CollectionThis paper describes a GIS-based intermodal network model for the shipment of coal in the United States. The purposeof this research was to investigate the role played by railways, waterways, and highways in the movement of coal fromits source area to point of use, and to highlight the implications these movements have for the U.S. economy. Theproject team modeled coal movements across the U.S. intermodal transportation network using the Energy InformationAdministration\ue2\u20ac\u2122s 2010 data, which provided detailed origin, destination, primary mode, and volume information for coalshipments. The model identifies the optimum routes for coal shipments based on a rate structure that accounts for therelative costs of shipping by each of the modes. The model, as well as available statistics, reveals the dominance of coalmined from the Powder River Basin. Compared to other sources\ue2\u20ac\u201d principally, the Appalachian Basin \ue2\u20ac\u201d coal fromMountain West is significantly less expensive, thus giving it a significant comparative advantage. Both Texas andIllinois, the two largest coal consumers by state, obtain virtually all of their coal from the West or from within state.Appalachian Basin coal serves domestic and export markets primarily in the East and Southeastern U.S. Only the OhioRiver provides significant movement of Central Appalachian Basin coal to the west and south. Although this modelingrelies on 2010 data, a look at more recent trends in coal prices and mining indicate that the Powder River Basincontinues to dominate, while production and industry employment have steadily declined in the Appalachian Basin. Theshift away from coal and toward natural gas as a primary energy source argues for the region\ue2\u20ac\u2122s coal extraction industriesremaining in a depressed state, which could produce negative economic consequences for transportation industries.Carrier and port facilities will need to adopt a more diversified shipping portfolio to accommodate for these losses. It ispossible that the loss of coal will open up opportunities for other commodity shipments on the inland waterways. Thismodeling demonstrates the potential for such integrated models to accommodate energy-related or similar data, andserves as a tool for freight planners in identifying energy transportation corridors of significance. It could potentially beused to analyze the movement of other commodities, which could let industry stakeholders identify new markets to tapinto. Further, the model and analysis can help inform MAP-21 related efforts to develop a National Freight Network andNational Freight Strategic Plan