Freight Improvement Technology Highlighted at the Ohio Freight Conference

Randy Butler from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation gave a presentation on new DOT programs in improving freight transportation. The Electronic Freight Management (EFM) initiative is a USDOT-sponsored project that applies Web technologies that improve data and message transmissions between supply chain partners. It promotes and evaluates innovative e-business concepts, enabling process coordination and information sharing for supply chain freight partners through public-private collaboration. The CEFM (Columbus EFM) project was a successful 2007 deployment test which implemented web services and other components to support an existing international import truck-air-truck supply chain. The goal is to provide a mechanism for sharing supply chain freight information that is simpler, cheaper, and more efficient to implement than traditional EDI, allows for all, but especially small to medium sized and less sophisticated, supply chain partners to access the information, and makes it easier to customize the flow of information between and among partners. Another goal of the initiative is to design a system to ensure that data are entered once but used many times, thereby eliminating data transcription errors. EFM aims to help companies replace paper trails with electronic information, freeing up human resources that were previously devoted to manual data entry. For more details on the program visit the EFM web page at http://www.efm.us.com/.
The Cross Town Improvement Program was also discussed. More information can be obtained from the web page at http://www.ctip-us.com/.
Contact: Randy ButlerTransportation SpecialistOffice of Freight Management and OperationsU.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Phone +1 202.366.9215 mailto:randy.butler@dot.gov

Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors Presentation at the Ohio Freight Conference 2009

Adrienne Gildea, Manager of the Coalition of America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC)—an organization dedicated to bringing national attention to the need to significantly expand U.S. freight transportation capabilities— provided a presentation at the Ohio Freight Conference on their efforts to fund freight infrastructure. Infrastructure funding for freight is a centerpiece of the next federal-aid surface transportation program, with the current legislation SAFETEA-LU expiring on September 30.

Freight 21: A National Strategic Freight Mobility Program and Trust Fund (FTF) is to provide a new, separately-funded freight program that would improve the current federal-aid surface transportation program and balance and separate these interests. It would be based on user fees and funding from outside traditional sources. CAGTC added a new type of freight funding mechanism is vital, as “passengers and freight in the U.S. compete for an inadequate supply of infrastructure capacity and financial resources with both suffering.”
CAGTC said Freight 21 is comprised of:
a national strategy guide to long-term planning;
dedicated and firewalled funding mechanisms;
merit-based criteria for allocating funds; and
a partnership with the private sector. For more information visit the CAGTC web page at www.tradecorridors.org

Freight Conference Highlights

The President of the University of Toledo provided introductory remarks for the Ohio Freight Conference on September 22nd. He indicated it was a time to avoid being faint hearted and risk aversive. New paradigms are needed to meet the transportation and specifically the freight hauling challenges during this economic recession. In the coming days more highlights and photos from the conference will be posted on the BCPA Newsletter/Blog.

Butler County Port Authority Board Meeting at Butler Tech

Barry Franz from Burgess & Niple gives an update on the application process for a Brownfield Assessment Grant. The Intermodal Rail Study will be used to develop an intermodal focus for the grant. The BCPA met at the Butler Tech Public Safety Complex on September 15th. The next meeting will be held at Miami University Middletown on October 20th.

Smart Papers Cogeneration Facility Tour

The Smart Papers cogeneration facility towers are shown in the photo. The facility is operational in Hamilton, Ohio. A tour of the facility featured a visual inspection of turbines for steam generation. Two coal-fired boilers can produce nearly 37 megawatts of electricity including about 20 megawatts that can be sold on the Midwest electric grid. The $30 million project was completed in June. Dan Maheu, Smart Paper's CEO answered questions and provided background on the power generation process.