American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials
Special Committee on
Research and Innovation
FY2023 NCHRP PROBLEM
STATEMENT TEMPLATE
Problem Number: 2023-B-28
Problem Title
Factors which
determine the location and characteristics of logistics / manufacturing
clusters – understanding the impact to the freight network and local land use
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Background Information
and Need For Research |
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The
expectation of consumers for fast delivery has contributed to the emergence
of fulfillment and distribution centers which are positioned closer to
residential clusters. In additional, logistics clusters which are tied to
ports and airports are being located throughout the nation, in some cases
hundreds of miles for the seaport or airport. The
evolving interest in on- and near-shoring is expected to affect a diverse
array of communities beyond those which have traditionally hosted
manufacturing operations. Many communities have become the site of these clusters
without the benefit of understanding the factors which are driving their
emergence and understanding the impacts of these facilities on the
surrounding communities’ land use and transport infrastructure. This
project will study the emergence of several clusters from the perspective of
the factors which are used to select the location, the development of the
specific site, and the impact on the community in terms of changes to land
use, the employment base of the community, and effects on the social and
economic structure of the community.
A
similar map below was prepared by the Economic Development Commission of
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada identifies not only the location of, but also the
employment levels associated with advanced manufacturing clusters in the US
and Canada. As this map and the map above illustrate, the location of the
clusters are not necessarily tied to traditional locations.
The
clusters generate and receive significant flows of freight which are
international, trans-border (being changed by the relatively-new North
American “USMCA”: U.S. Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade), and domestic in
nature. All modes of transport are employed in the move of shipments. The
multi-modal nature of the freight flows requires an understanding of the
unique operational aspects of each mode and their interface requirements with
the other freight transport modes. |
Literature Search Summary
A cursory
literature search has identified four reports which address logistics and
manufacturing clusters. Reports are dated prior to COVID-19 and do not reflect
significant and ongoing changes, which supports the need to comprehensively
revisit the situation and update research findings.
• “Transportation and Logistics Cluster
Competitive Advantages in the US regions: A Cross-Sectional and Spatio-Temporal
Analysis”, I Kumar, A Zhalnin, A Kim, LJ Beaulieu - Research in Transportation
…, 2017 – Elsevier
• “Foresight Support Systems to
Facilitate Regional Innovations: A Conceptualization Case For a German
Logistics Cluster”, J Keller, C Markmann, A Heiko - Technological Forecasting
and Social …, 2015 - Elsevier
• “Absorptive Capacity, Cluster
Linkages, and Innovation: An Evidence From Bengaluru High-Tech Manufacturing
Cluster”, D Chandrashekar, BSM Hillemane - Journal of Manufacturing …, 2018 -
emerald.com
• “Research on the Synergetic
Development between Manufacturing Cluster and Logistics Enterprises” [J], X XU,
W CAO, C JIN, W GUO - Packaging Engineering, 2007 - en.cnki.com.cn
• Future Freight Flows (FFF) initiative
launched as part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)
Project 20-83(01)
Research Objective
A quick
anecdotal review of logistics clusters near seaports and airports as well as
inland ports, reveals a growing development of freight processing centers which
work in concert with seaports and airports to shift certain freight processing
off seaport and airport properties. The emergence of new manufacturing
clusters, not always tied to traditional locations, is creating challenges for
local land use planners, and regional transportation planners, and freight
planning practitioners. This research will identify the parties involved in
this evolution as well as the factors which lead to location and facility type
decisions.
Urgency and Potential Benefits
Freight
traffic related to the emergence and/or expansion of logistics structures and
emerging manufacturing activities has numerous impacts on the local community.
In many instances, local land use planners and regional transportation planners
must respond to rather than pro-actively prepare for these developments. As a
result, a wide array of impacts on the socio-economic-transportation fabric of
the community emerge.
These
impacts can spread beyond the precincts of the logistics structure. As a result
of the research, planners will understand the factors employed to identify and
select locations for the clusters and the direct and indirect impacts on the
socio-economic-transportation fabric of the community. The identification of
the root factors and the consequential impacts will assist planners in
proactively creating programs to strategically identify and recommend the
location of the clusters and mitigate and/or minimize the adverse impacts of
the clusters.
Implementation Considerations and Supporters
The
research should lead to the development of a guidebook which outlines the
identified locational factors and the impacts. The optimal presentation of this
information would be in an interactive guidebook which includes explanatory
scenarios.
The major
components of the guidebook should include:
• How to identify and forecast freight
flows employing innovative processes based on scenario constructs.
• Identification of the local and
regional factors will attract and support the emergence and/or expansion of
logistics and manufacturing clusters.
• Identification of impacts on the
local community including on the transport infrastructure, land use, employment
cohorts, disadvantaged communities, natural environment, educational facilities
and programs, and political considerations.
• Best practices and examples of
planning concepts and projects to accommodate the emergence and/or expansion of
logistics and manufacturing clusters.
This
research needs statement is supported by:
AASHTO
Special Committee on Freight, Caroline Kieltyka (AASHTO Liaison),
ckieltyka@aashto.org, 202-624-8489
Recommended Research Funding and Research
Period
The
research and guidebook should be completed within 18 months. Suggested funding
is $450,000.
Problem Statement Author(s): For each author,
provide their name, affiliation, email address and phone.
• Charles Edwards, Univ. of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, chwedwards@gmail.com , (919) 215-0605
• Sushant Sharma, TTI,
s-sharma@tti.tamu.edu, (314) 556-7363
• Tom McQueen, Georgia Department of
Transportation tmcqueen@dot.ga.gov, (404) 631-1785
Potential Panel Members: For each panel
member, provide their name, affiliation, email address and phone.
The panel
should be composed of a diverse group which represents community and regional
and state DOT transportation planners, transport providers, and industrial
developers.
Person Submitting The Problem Statement: Name, affiliation,
email address and phone.
Tom
McQueen, AICP
Asst.
Planning Administrator
Georgia
Department of Transportation
tmcqueen@dot.ga.gov
(404)
631-1785