Earlier this year, the US trucking industry’s not-for-profit research organization, the American Transportation Research Institute’s (ATRI) research quantified the cost of congestion to the trucking industry at US$49.6bn in 2014. One of the ways to address that congestion is to more effectively and efficiently move people and goods through major urban areas. Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) is one tool in the toolkit that holds great promise for addressing urban congestion.
ATRI recently led the development of two primers for the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) program. The vision of ICM is for transportation networks to realize significant improvements in the efficient movement of people and goods through integrated, proactive management of existing infrastructure along major corridors. Working through an ICM approach, transportation professionals manage the corridor as a multimodal system, and make operational benefits for the benefit of the corridor as a whole. The two reports, which are freely available through the ATRI, USDOT and FHWA websites, are:
‘Integrated Corridor Management and Freight Opportunities’, which examines how freight can be incorporated into an ICM approach, as well as the benefits of ICM in addressing many of the challenges in moving freight through major corridors. The vision of integrated corridor management (ICM) is that transportation networks will realize significant improvements in the efficient movement of people and goods through integrated, proactive management of existing infrastructure along major corridors. The primer explores opportunities to effectively integrate freight institutionally, operationally, and technically, both by using existing platforms and considering new options for coordination between traditional ICM and freight stakeholders. Lastly, although integrating freight stakeholders and ICM holds great promise for more efficient operations on both ends, it is not without challenges. The report explores what these challenges are and how they can be overcome;
‘Integrated Corridor Management and Traffic Incident Management’, which describes how traffic incident management (TIM) can be incorporated into ICM, as well as detailing the many benefits that ICM brings to the advancement of TIM programs. It explores opportunities to effectively integrate TIM strategies institutionally, operationally, and technically, both by using existing platforms and considering new options for coordination between traditional ICM and TIM stakeholders. Lastly, although integrating TIM stakeholders into ICM processes holds great promise for more efficient and safer transportation operations, it is not without challenges. The report explores what these challenges are and how they can be overcome.
ATRI has just launched the ‘2016 Top Industry Issues Survey’, commissioned by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), which asks trucking industry stakeholders to rank their top issues of concern, along with appropriate strategies for addressing them. The survey is in its 12th year and participation by those concerned with the movement of freight has grown each year. The results of the latest survey will be released at the ATA Annual Management Conference and Exhibition, to be held on October 1-4, in Las Vegas.
