The goal was to provide IDOT with a commodity-level perspective on freight movements, enabling more targeted planning for infrastructure development and maintenance.
Our Approach:
- Commodity Hub Identification – Mapped the locations of significant freight origins and destinations across Idaho, including agricultural producers, storage facilities, and manufacturing sites.
- Trip Tagging & Tracking – Used GPS trip data to tag vehicle movements linked to these hubs with the relevant commodity type, creating a categorised dataset of commodity-specific trips.
- Route Flow Analysis – Analysed the major corridors and travel patterns for each commodity, measuring flow volumes within Idaho, across state borders, and nationally.
- Comprehensive Reporting – Delivered findings in a research paper authored by Oregon State University, detailing the methodology, key patterns, and implications for freight planning.
Key Findings:
- New Level of Freight Detail – Introduced a novel methodology for linking GPS trip data to commodity flows, offering insights previously unavailable in state-level freight studies.
- Major Corridor Identification – Highlighted the key roadways that sustain high-volume commodity flows, enabling targeted infrastructure planning.
- Commodity-Specific Patterns – Revealed distinct travel behaviours for different commodities, informing sector-specific transport strategies.
Impact:
- Enhanced Infrastructure Planning – Equipped IDOT with the data needed to prioritise investment in corridors most critical to specific industries.
- Academic & Industry Recognition – The research paper was well received in professional forums, establishing Oregon State University as a leader in innovative freight analytics.
- Policy & Planning Alignment – Provided a data-backed foundation for aligning infrastructure development with economic and industry priorities.
