Participants were welcomed to the Roundtable discussion and to the Dallas/Fort Worth region by

Mr. Michael Morris (Director of Transportation, North Central Texas Council of Governments

(NCTCOG)). Mr. Morris began his remarks by noting the importance of a partnership between

the public and private sectors in addressing freight needs. He provided a number of statistics that

illustrate the importance of freight to the region and the state. Mr. Morris concluded by

highlighting provisions in MAP-21 and the proposed DRIVE act.

Ms. Caroline Mays (Manager, TxDOT Freight Transportation Planning Branch) provided the

TxDOT freight perspective. She highlighted key components of the Texas Freight Mobility Plan,

which will be submitted for approval to the Texas Transportation Commission in the fall. Ms.

Mays also thanked all the participants in advance for their participation in the Roundtable

Discussion and stated that the large number of participants is a testimony of the progress that

have been made in bringing both the private and public sector to the table in addressing freight

needs and planning for future freight movements.

Ms. Jolanda Prozzi (Research Supervisor for TxDOT Research Project 0-6089) reviewed the

study objectives and the Roundtable Discussion objectives. She reviewed the structure of the

Roundtable and encouraged everyone to participate and share their insight. The information

shared will be used by the study team to develop a framework for TxDOT to inform proactive

freight planning for the state.

Ms. Prozzi’s remarks were followed by six presentations. The first four presentations discussed

major trends that could potentially impact Texas’ business in the future. The last two

presentations discussed the perspectives of businesses as shared with the study team during the

conducted interviews.

• Jeff Warner (TTI) presented data on Texas’ imports and exports and provided an

overview of global trade trends.

• Dr. Michael Cline (Rice University) presented the socio-demographic trends over the

next forty years.

• Megan Kenney (TTI) presented national and global environmental trends, including

the impacts of extreme weather events and anticipated government, industry, and

consumer responses.

• Dr. Rajat Rajbhandari (TTI) reviewed current technologies that shippers and freight

carriers use (e.g., RFID and GPS), services accessible to consumers that are reshaping

demand for goods and services (e.g., e-commerce), and emerging technologies that

have the potential to transform the supply chain (e.g., 3D printing, automated

vehicles, and truck platoons).

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• Arturo Bujanda and Juan Villa (TTI) presented on the perspectives of major

industries in Mexico.

• Dr. C. Michael Walton (CTR) presented on trends and their potential impact on major

companies in the United States.