2020 Commodity Flow Survey Workshop [September 24, 2020]
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2021-01-01
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Abstract:The Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) Workshop represents the joint efforts of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) and the TRB Standing Committee on Freight Transportation Data. The 2020 CFS Workshop was timed to coincide with the release of the 2017 CFS data tables and the planning of the 2022 CFS. This was the first all-virtual CFS Workshop to be hosted by TRB. In contrast to the previous CFS Workshops, this virtual workshop brought together federal, state, and local level planners and researchers, academics, and practitioners from public and private sectors to discuss efficient ways to align the CFS with the needs of data users and producers. The goal of the workshop was to provide a platform for discussion of critical needs and uses to improve future iterations of the CFS. Participants met over a half-day virtual meeting to work together to identify how the CFS can be used to answer freight data questions, share information and knowledge, and highlight emerging issues surrounding freight movement. Chaired by Katherine Lawson of the University at Albany, State University of New York, the planning committee represented CFS data producers, data users, analysts and modelers. The ad hoc committee developed the conference agenda and pre-conference surveys. The workshop program is available in the appendix.
The virtual workshop provided a platform for open discussion and synthesis of the challenges, uses, and needs for CFS data products. Among the many topics discussed, the workshop participants and organizers considered the benefits and trade-offs of freight flow attributes including the types and grouping of commodities, level of geography, and categories of modes that are included in the public release of the CFS and its derivatives, e.g., the Freight Analysis Framework (FAF). FAF is a commodity-based freight flow forecasting model produced through a partnership between BTS and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). FAF uses data from the CFS, among other sources, to forecast freight tonnage and value by region, commodity, and mode. Workshop attendees shared opportunities and challenges of current uses, applications, and approaches related to CFS and FAF. Data producers shared advances in processing methods and data collection techniques.
This e-circular contains summaries of the three main conference sessions including the three breakout groups hosted to enable discussion among attendees. No language should be construed as consensus findings or recommendations on the part of the conference; the planning committee; the rapporteur; the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine; or the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
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Content Notes:The National Transportation Library has received written permission from TRB to distribute this publication.
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