Advanced Air Mobility to Enhance Rural Freight Logistics

Details

• Creators:
  Bridgelall, Raj
• Corporate Creators:
  Center for Transformative Infrastructure Preservation and Sustainability (CTIPS) Region 8 University Transportation Center (UTC) ; Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Bridges Cargo Aircraft Drones Forecasting Freight Transportation Geographic Information Systems Hazardous Materials Heavy Vehicles Implementation Infrastructure Logistics Machine Learning Market Assessment Mobility Regulation Roads Rural Areas Vulnerable Road Users

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  CTIPS-26-003
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Center for Transformative Infrastructure Preservation and Sustainability (CTIPS) Region 8 University Transportation Center (UTC)
• Abstract:
  Freight transportation places substantial and growing stress on roads and bridges, particularly in rural and regional areas where heavy trucks travel long distances to serve dispersed communities. At the same time, progress in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) to use new aircraft technologies for cargo transport creates an opportunity to move selected freight off the road and into the air. This project examined whether and how AAM can be used to improve freight logistics while preserving ground transportation infrastructure. This study integrates evidence on aircraft technology, freight demand, infrastructure availability, and regulatory readiness to identify practical, near-term opportunities for shifting freight from trucks to aircraft. The findings show that AAM is most effective when applied selectively. That is, focusing on high-value, time-sensitive, or safety-critical goods such as pharmaceuticals and hazardous materials, where demand is concentrated and reliability is essential. Rather than requiring new facilities, early deployment can rely largely on existing airports and hospital-related aviation assets. This enables faster and lower-cost implementation. While current aircraft performance is constrained by energy storage limitations, these constraints still allow meaningful substitution on short- and medium-range routes with repeatable demand. Overall, the project demonstrates that targeted use of AAM can reduce truck traffic on vulnerable roadways, enhance freight reliability, and extend the service life of transportation infrastructure. Targeted deployments of AAM can provide a practical foundation for future expansion as technologies and regulations continue to mature.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  69A3552348308
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:877368bd722833a7f75dde0b4c0e5b3fba5507fe199ebbf35e4c0c107eaae43671349ef6a79711b6c61def3879e4a6449ac66b7a7bce76bafeb85260a40f3bf8
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/92652/dot_92652_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 14.27 MB ]