Intermodal Network Model of Coal Distribution in the United States

This paper describes an intermodal network model based on the geographic information system for the shipment of coal in the United States. The research contributes to a better understanding of a portion of the energy transportation system and how rail, water, and highway are integrated to deliver energy goods. Coal movements were modeled across the network with the Energy Information Administration’s 2010 data, providing detailed origin, destination, primary mode, and volume information for coal movements in the United States. The model identifies the optimum routes for coal shipments on the basis of a rate structure that accounts for the relative costs of shipping by each of the modes. The model results reveal the wide distribution of Powder River Basin coal, with a market area that reaches across the West and the Midwest. Both Texas and Illinois, the two largest coal consumers by state, derive virtually all their coal from the West or from within state. Appalachian Basin coal serves domestic and export markets primarily in the east and southeastern United States. Only the Ohio River provides significant movement of Central Appalachian Basin coal to the West and the South. The presented research demonstrates the potential for integrated models to accommodate energy-related or similar data. The model is a tool freight planners can use to identify energy transportation corridors of significance. Results from this model can inform efforts related to the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act for developing a national freight network and a national freight strategic plan.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3141/2479-09
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/173022.aspx
• Authors:
  • Blandford, Benjamin
  • Grossardt, Ted
  • Shouse, Michael
  • Ripy, John
• Publication Date: 2015

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Maps; References;
• Pagination: pp 69–77
• Monograph Title: Marine Transportation, Port Operations, and Intermodal Freight
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Issue Number: 2479
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Coal; Costs; Freight traffic; Freight transportation; Geographic information systems; Intermodal transportation; Origin and destination; Physical distribution; Routes; Transportation corridors
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Energy; Freight Transportation; Marine Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Terminals and Facilities; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01554362
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780309295765
• Report/Paper Numbers: 15-3179
• Files: PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 26 2015 9:49AM