Metro Model: Innovative Data Sources Inform Truck Tour Framework for Dynamic Portland Region

2017PDFTech ReportFHWA-HOP-18-024Freight transportationTravel demand managementUnited StatesUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationJohnson, ChrisPurdy, Jeffrey EFederal Highway AdministrationLocated in the Pacific Northwest, Metro serves as Portland, Oregon's metropolitan planning organization (MPO). As an international gateway and domestic freight hub, the region is particularly influenced by the dynamic trends affecting distribution and logistics. Thousands of Oregon companies depend on Portland's marine, rail, air, and road facilities for access to markets. The agency has spent thousands of staff hours in truck model maintenance, updates, and applications over the past 20 years.As it was completing commodity flow forecasts for 2014, the MPO became increasingly interested in improving freight demand modeling capabilities. Metro's model at the time was limited in its ability to report responses to network conditions and costs. In addition, the model could only depict truck volumes on the network, but not the flow of goods by commodity type. Further, Metro found that the model's usability was limited as a tool to support regional policy evaluation. To address these limitations, Metro applied for and was awarded funding from the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2) C20 Implementation Assistance Program to develop a behavior-based freight model.74