Florida Statewide Multi-Modal Freight

The model converts the supply chain information on firms, shipments, and modes into modal trip tables, and assigns these trip tables to a multimodal statewide transportation network. This network consists of highway and railway links, seaports and waterways, airports, and intermodal connectors. The model uses a combination of FAF zones and Florida counties. The model covers the freight movements within, into and out of the entire state of Florida, using a transportation network database that extends to the entire United States and around the world. This statewide model is designed to be integrated with sub-state regional models. These regional models will be able to use cross-boundary freight flows from the statewide model. The statewide model is built on the following seven step framework:

• Firm Synthesis creates a list of businesses and their locations in Florida, the United States, and the rest of the world.
• Supplier Selection links suppliers with buyers based on the commodities that the suppliers produce and the buyers consume.
• Goods Demand uses observed freight demand and distributes the commodity flows amongst pairs of suppliers and buyers.
• Distribution Channel models determine whether the freight shipments are direct or require intermediate handling (i.e., movement through an intermodal or distribution center).
• Shipment Size converts the total annual commodity flow between each supplier and buyer pair into individual shipments by size and frequency.
• Mode and Transfers identifies the mode used for each part of the freight trip and the transfer locations. The shipments are assigned to the following modes: truck, rail, water, and air. The choice of the mode is decided based on the full logistics cost of the path from the supplier to the buyer.
• Network Assignment assigns freight trips to the multimodal networks based on the information on the modes and transfer locations