Developing Freight Performance Measures At U.S. Canadian Border Crossings Bruce Lambert

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 3 We all support: Verifying the nature of traffic flows across borders and their linkages to supply chains, commodities and routing Applying findings and data to national policy and local planning studies Providing output to state, local, and industry partners Extending coverage & doing concurrent (complimentary) R&D with Canada & Mexico

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 4 Performance Measures Performance Measures provide mechanism for understanding system performance. Given limited budgets, etc., another tool for informing investment decisions at a national, state or local level. The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 requires U.S. federal agencies to compare program goals against outcomes.

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 5 Measuring Improvements in the Movement of Highway and Intermodal Freight - Summary Cost of highway freight per ton-mile, Cargo insurance rates, Point-to-point travel times on selected freight- significant highways, Hours of delay per 1,000 vehicle miles on selected freight-significant highways, Crossing times at international borders, Condition of connectors between NHS and intermodal terminals, Customer satisfaction.

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 6 Tracking Changes in Travel Times & Speeds by Location Can Provide: Identification of General Bottlenecks & Impediments Understanding of Corridor Flows Changes by Corridor (annually, seasonal, monthly, daily) Model Calibration Data

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 7 Four Related Efforts on Performance Measurements and Border Crossings 2001 Border Review Assessment Border Wizard Transport Canada Border Crossing Study Travel Time in Freight Significant Corridors

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations Border Reviews: Assessment of 7 International Border Crossings Selected 7 Border Crossings (4 along Canadian Border, and 3 along the Mexican Border) Data collection was accomplished by reviewers noting license plates at the queuing point in exporting country and clearance point in importing country on release from primary) One time study but provided useful data Report is available at

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 9 Border Crossing Study – 7 Crossings inbound into U.S. Average Time Buffer Index U.S. – Canadian Bridges Ambassador21 66% Blaine17106% Blue Water 34135% Peace23257% U.S. – Mexican Bridges El Paso37108% Laredo31 76% Otay Mesa35 84%

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 10 Border Wizard Cross Cutting Federal Agency Work – FHWA, GSA, Customs and Border Protection Simulation tool to Coordinate Improvements at border crossings Linkages to other models to examine transportation activities at border crossings

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 11 Transport Canada - Border Wait-Time Project TC staff with industry cooperation used existing truck fleet GPS to estimate wait-times at the U.S./Canadian border.  The singular purpose was to demonstrate that GPS-generated Tractor logs are a productive and potentially abundant source of empirical data on wait-times and congestion patterns.  All carrier/shipper/consignment identifiers have been scrubbed from the source data. Only a fragment of the trip/tractor log has been compiled for analysis.  The results to be used for working purposes only, in an effort to further expand related R&D efforts of mutual interest to government agencies and the trucking industry.  The results will not be used under any circumstances to monitor or audit a carrier’s operating practice.

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 12 Tracking System/Service Options Considered in Canadian Study Two Technology Options Explored –  CanCom Satellite system  Truck-mounted GPS-units Both are similar in many respects – realtime, polling, etc. One functional difference is of particular relevance to this study:  CanCom position polling done via traditional satellite triangulation  typically at 1hr. intervals,  the frequency can be increased, but only at considerable cost  GPS units generate polls, with time-stamp & lat/long coordinates, every 1-2 miles (in this instance), depending on speed  units can be programmed to initiate polls at specific locations, or set of lat/long coordinates.

Border Zone Schematic Example for US-bound traffic Zone 3 (ON)Zone 2 (ON)Zone 1 (ON)Zone 1 (MI) Bridge Crossing i.e. Border Crossing Zone Transit Zone Transit Zone = Zone 3 (ON) to Zone 1 (ON) Border Crossing Zone = Zone 1 (ON) to Zone 1 (MI) Total Crossing Time (TCT) = Transit Zone Time + B. Crossing Zone Time Border Crossing Time (BCT) = B. Crossing Zone Time

TCT = Total Crossing Time BCT = Border Crossing Time

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 15 The DOT FPM – Travel Time In Freight Significant Corridors Study on Travel Time supports two freight performance measures for FHWA and USDOT:  Global connectivity  Travel time freight significant corridors Submit annual number(s) at end of fiscal year.

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 16 Steps in Travel Time Study Identification of Freight-Significant Corridors Select Appropriate Performance Measures Examine Optimal Tracking System Work with Test Carriers to estimate alpha results Extend work in Beta Test to one day of “real time” data Develop GIS and data integration steps to improve data quality and coverage

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 17 Selecting an Optimal Tracking System Technologies Considered (must be physically related to the truck): Satellite-Based Systems Terrestrial Wireless Systems Hybrid Systems On-Board Systems Fixed-Site Systems

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 18 Selected Tracking System: Satellite Determined to provide the greatest utility for developing and tracking FPMs Use existing technology Data collected by trucks Can collect data on non instrumented segments Extensive National Coverage Untapped dataset by public agencies

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Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 22 Next Steps on Border Crossings Being Considered in Travel Time Study Match Terrestrial Systems with Satellites Technology  Geofencing corridors around Border Crossings (30 miles?)  Matching flows with positions through the Border  Examining more detailed, local data for calibration purposes Need to retain the queue functions and connection to corridors –total time versus border clearance time

Reality - There will be a time component to cross borders, as certain functions must, and can only be done, at the border facility. What can we do: 1.Manage Expectations 2.Improve System Operations 3.Increase Predictability /Reliability

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 24 What Measures Do We Need, and How Do We Develop Data Do We want a common data (performance measure) for all segments of the border relevant for all users? Can We work with inspection agencies on data and joint performance measures? Can We agree on the appropriate metrics?  Average Travel Time by direction, day, and crossing  Buffer Index or reliability Can We develop data exchange programs using existing technologies on both sides of the border? Can We develop the Public-Private Partnerships necessary for using truck based information?

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 25 Your Involvement – Some Next Steps Principle Costs - Programming Systems and Procuring data Who leads in coordinating efforts? Do We have the patience to develop data and research tools through a steady incremental effort?  Time to access, collect, calibrate data with industry support  Time to accumulate data for benchmarking Could We develop/disseminate data and travel time estimates, with a goal of ultimately sharing real time data? Can We focus on infrastructure needs, not only on inspection processing at facilities – not a me versus them? Is there a candidate corridor/facility to examine?

Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations 26 Summary Available tracking technologies are a rich, untapped source of empirical data on track operations. Several studies demonstrate a technical proof of concept - now want to move to an implementing/operating phase. We can work together to develop common data (performance measures) on travel time through border facilities and share work with peers and industry partners. We can integrate data collection and analysis across many applications and jurisdictions. We can nurture joint-venture efforts between partners (FHWA, TC, States/Provinces, Trucking firms, etc.).

FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations, USDOT Bruce Lambert