The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a request for information on December 27 to help develop a National Freight Strategic Plan or NFSP that includes 11 “statutorily required components” mandated by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act to address the needs of multimodal freight transportation.
[Above photo of USDOT HQ by Beyond DC.]
“The safe and efficient movement of freight is vital to the Nation’s economic growth and to the creation of well-paying jobs for millions of Americans,” the agency said in its request. “The department seeks information from the public, including stakeholders – state and local agencies, private owners and operators, industry trade groups, shippers and beneficial cargo owners – to aid development of the NFSP.”
The USDOT noted that a national freight strategy “will be helpful” in terms of infrastructure planning as it estimates that freight tonnage will increase by 44 percent between 2015 and 2045, placing increased strain on a system that moves approximately 18 billion tons of freight annually across the country via all modes of transportation.
The agency added that key aspects of this NFSP include: an assessment of the condition and performance of the national multimodal freight network; freight volume forecasts over five, 10, and 20-year periods; identification of major freight gateways and as well as bottlenecks; an assessment of statutory, regulatory, technological, institutional, financial, and other barriers to improved freight transportation performance; a process for improving collaboration on multistate projects.
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