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2 Role of the Inland Waterways System in National Freight Transportation
Pages 14-65

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From page 14...
... The next describes the major corridors, the commodities shipped, and the contribution of the inland waterways system to national freight transportation relative to other modes. The condition and performance of the system, including reliability (delays and unavailabilities)
From page 15...
... Because of shallow drafts and seasonal changes in navigable depths, fixed infrastructure is required in many parts of the river system to maintain open navigation for commerce. The nation's inland waterways include more than 36,000 miles of rivers, waterways, channels, and canals, with 241 locks managed by USACE at 195 sites.3 [Kruse et al.
From page 16...
... 13,205 28 Total 36,324 Note: Shallow draft navigation includes all waterway segments with navigable depths; not all of these waterways carry substantial cargo. About 11,000 of the 36,000 inland waterway miles are part of the fuel-taxed inland waterways navigation system specified in legislation and subject to a barge fuel tax used to pay 50 percent of the costs of inland waterways system infrastructure construction (see Appendix A for a list of fuel-taxed inland waterways)
From page 17...
... U pp er M is si ss ip pi O hi o H ud so n C um be rl an d Te nn es se e B la ck W ar ri or At ch af al ay a Al ab am a Sn ak e C ol um bi a To m bi gb ee Lo w er M is si ss ip pi G ul f I nt ra co as ta l W at er w ay Ill in oi s O ua ch ita R ed Ar ka ns as W hi te M is so ur i 0 5 00 1 00 0 15 00 2 00 0 km fi gu re 2 -1 I nl an d an d in tr ac oa st al w at er w ay s sy st em .
From page 18...
... In view of the availability of easily navigable waterways, waterborne commerce was the primary viable option for transporting freight over significant distances. The inland waterways carried grain, lumber, and coal to the eastern ports and finished goods and immigrants to the rapidly developing Northwest Territory (National Park Service 2013)
From page 19...
... Customs at ports of entry; therefore, trucking volumes and some rail volumes increase over time because of growth in imported freight flows, whereas U.S. pipeline transport and domestic waterway transport primarily serve domestic-only freight flows (with the notable exception of grain exports)
From page 20...
... , especially truck and rail, which deliver goods for final consumption. Other modes are less correlated with economic growth, such as waterborne commerce and pipeline transportation of energy products.
From page 21...
... For the purpose of illustration, river segments are categorized in Figure 2-4 as high use, moderate use, or low use according to the number of ton-miles carried.4 Notably, the high-use parts of the inland waterways represent 22 percent of the total inland waterway miles and account for 76 percent of the cargo ton-miles transported5 (USACE 2013 and USACE Navigation Data Center, http://www.navigationdatacenter.us/db /gisviewer/, file linktons11.zip, updated August 14, 2013, and accessed July 2014)
From page 22...
... The data encompass all of water transportation, including passenger transportation; data are not available specific to the inland waterways and freight. Figures indicate the North American Industry Classification System categories.
From page 23...
... Since the shipments from individual low-use tributaries are a small contribution to total system flows, their marginal value added is also low, although their collective contribution is greater, and some individual segments may be important for moving cargo. When proponents of the inland waterways system refer to the need to preserve the network, they often are referring to these low-use tributaries and their contribution to total system freight flows.
From page 24...
... W at er w ay N et w or k: To nM ile s Lo w U se (0 –1 bn )
From page 25...
... on the inland waterways.7 While these six major corridors carry most of the freight, other river systems may transport regionally important commodities and may provide subcorridor routes for critically important freight movement at regional or national scales.8 (See Appendix B for a map representation and listing of major commodity-specific corridors generated from USACE Waterborne Commerce Statistics.) Upper Mississippi River The Upper Mississippi River flows south from Minneapolis, Minnesota, 858 miles to the mouth of the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois.
From page 26...
... ta bl e 22 Ba rg e Fr ei gh t T ra ff ic S um m ar y fo r 20 12 , b y C om m od ity a nd W at er w ay T yp e C om m od it y To ta l Ba rg e C oa st w is e or La ke w is e In la nd (i nt er na l)
From page 27...
... Percent of Total Upper Mississippi River (Minneapolis, Minnesota, to mouth of Ohio River) Total 110.1 100 Coal 24.1 21.9 Petroleum and petroleum products 12.8 11.6 Chemicals and related products 11.4 10.3 Crude materials 16.7 15.2 Primary manufactured goods 9.8 8.9 Food and farm products 35 31.7 All manufactured equipment 0.3 0.3 Other 0 0 Lower Mississippi River (mouth of Ohio River to Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
From page 28...
... table 2-3 (continued) Freight Traffic for Six Major Inland Waterways, 2012 Waterway Description Commodities Short Tons (millions)
From page 29...
... Freight Traffic for Six Major Inland Waterways, 2012 Waterway Description Commodities Short Tons (millions) Percent of Total the Gulf Coast deepwater ports, account for 32 percent of the tonnage.
From page 30...
... There are no navigation locks on this portion of the inland waterways system. Navigation depth is maintained by river training works such as groins and revetments and by periodic maintenance dredging of shoals.
From page 31...
... The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal lock at New Orleans connects the Mississippi River to the GIWW and overcomes elevation differences between the river and the canal. The lock is currently one of the most congested on the entire inland waterways system.
From page 32...
... It accounts for about 16 percent of all food and farm products moved on the inland waterways and about 3 percent of all food and farm imports and exports. Crude materials, largely forest products and sand and gravel, made up another 20 percent of the tonnage.
From page 33...
... . multimodal comparisons Concern over maintaining the inland waterways system extends to the consequences for other modes if large shifts in freight from water to rail or highway occur because of steadily declining investment in the waterways.
From page 34...
... northwestern food and farm products and (c) midnation petroleum and petroleum products (with inset showing a doubling of volumes on the Mississippi)
From page 35...
... midnation crude materials. (continued on next page)
From page 36...
... The more enduring observations on freight flows and mode shares can be useful in considering the impact of other modes on use of the inland waterways system.
From page 37...
... Comparable data are reported in Table 1-50 of the National Transportation 9 The FAF category for "water" shown in Table 2-4 includes more than cargo moved on the inland waterways system -- it also includes deep sea, coastal waters, and Great Lakes cargo movements. Furthermore, information included in the FAF differs from that available from the USACE Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center partly because of differences in statistical sourcing (such as in commodity classifications)
From page 38...
... In te rs ta te H ig hw ay s M od e V ol um e S ca le ( T on s/ Y ea r)
From page 39...
... Multiple modes and mail Pipeline Other and unknown Total 48 22 7 0.1 5 16 2 100 50 25 7 0.1 5 12 1 100 46 27 6 0.1 7 12 1 100 46 27 6 0.1 7 13 1 100 Mode Share by Ton-Miles of Freight Truck Rail Water Air (including truck–air) Multiple modes and mail Pipeline Other and unknown Total 30 24 9 0.3 11 23 2 100 34 29 8 0.1 10 17 2 100 32 31 9 0.2 10 17 1 100 32 32 10 0.2 10 15 1 100 Note: Mode shares are expressed as percentages.
From page 40...
... Condition and Performance of Inland Waterways Infrastructure overview The availability of multiple measures of system reliability and performance is useful for assessing system functioning. Delays, lock unavailabilities, and usage of the system are important components in the assessment of system functioning and are the focus of this section.
From page 41...
... Furthermore, substantial drayage transport may be needed in a water-to-rail shift (i.e., short-distance a These statistics are derived from the committee's analysis of USACE unavailability data collected for the USACE Lock Performance Monitoring System, http://www.navigationdata center.us/lpms/data/lock2013webunavail-021914.htm. (continued on next page)
From page 42...
... It is included in this discussion because the age of locks is widely used to communicate the condition of the inland waterways system and needs for funding. age of locks Figure 2-8 shows a map of inland waterways lock infrastructure by original construction date.
From page 43...
... Lo ck : Y ea r C on st ru ct ed < 19 00 19 00 –1 92 4 19 25 –1 94 9 19 50 –1 97 4 19 75 –1 99 5 W at er w ay N et w or k: B as em ap 0 5 00 1 00 0 15 00 2 00 0 km fi gu re 2 -8 S um m ar y m ap o f i nl an d w at er w ay s na vi ga ti on lo ck a nd d am in fr as tr uc tu re , b y ye ar of c on st ru ct io n.
From page 44...
... This approach is similar to that used for documenting the current age of highways, bridges, and military infrastructure and is a more accurate method of communicating the age of inland waterways infrastructure. In 2014, the average age of locks computed from the date of last known major rehabilitation was 49 years, nearly 10 years younger than the age assessed from the original construction date (Figure 2-9; 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 A ve ra g e A g e in C u rr en t Y ea r Major rehabilitation construction that could be documented has reduced the average age of lock-and-dam infrastructures by nearly 10 years.
From page 45...
... They account for more than 77 percent of all lockages in the inland waterways. Some locks that experience periods of high use are on waterways designated as low or moderate use on the basis of average annual tonmiles, which has implications for the allocation of resources needed 11 See Chapter 4 for further discussion of age of infrastructure in the context of asset management and prioritization of maintenance spending.
From page 46...
... Kentucky and Green Rivers Fox River All Locks: Age adjusted for rehab All Locks: Age from construction 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Age 110 120 130 140 150 200160 170 180 190 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 N u m b er o f In st al la ti o n s figure 2-10 Histogram of effective age of infrastructure on the inland waterways network including rehabilitation for (a) all locks using available data, (b)
From page 47...
... Histogram of effective age of infrastructure on the inland waterways network including rehabilitation for (c) the Upper Mississippi and Illinois River corridors.
From page 48...
... 0 5 00 1 00 0 15 00 2 00 0 km Lo ck T on na ge W at er w ay N et w or k: T on -M ile s Lo w U se (0 –1 m ill io n)
From page 49...
... 0 5 00 1 00 0 15 00 2 00 0 km To nm ile u sa ge c at eg or ie s as d ef in ed b y th e U ni te d St at es A rm y C or ps o f E ng in ee rs W at er w ay N et w or k: T on -M ile s Lo w U se (0 –1 bn )
From page 50...
... lockages per million tons transported. These eight rivers account for about 80 percent of all lockages in the inland waterways system.
From page 51...
... This situation can occur because of seasonal peaks in the movement of certain commodities such as harvested food and farm products or because of navigation closures due to annually recurring weather conditions such as ice or flooding. For prioritization, the tonnage moved through each lock during peak demand periods, as well as the type and value of the cargo, needs to be considered; usage should not be assessed merely on the basis of average annual waterway ton-miles.
From page 52...
... It is the sum of delay and unavailability. Lost transportation time due to delays and lock unavailability is a cost to shippers and an important consideration in deciding on future investments to maintain reliable freight service.
From page 53...
... Lock processing time is not included in the USACE definition and measure of delay and is instead a separate measure in the USACE Lock Performance Monitoring System. Lock processing time is the time required for a vessel to approach, to break down the tow into subtows (if needed for large tows to pass through the lock)
From page 54...
... Lo ck D el ay s: % T ow s D el ay ed W at er w ay N et w or k: T on -M ile s 0% –2 0% 20 % –4 0% 40 % –6 0% 60 % –8 0% 80 % –1 00 % Lo w U se (0 –1 bn )
From page 55...
... As discussed below, a method is needed for understanding the impact of delay and unavailabilities across the system to determine proper approaches for mitigating delay. model for understanding the potential impact of delay and unavailability To improve understanding of the impact that delay and unavailability can have on service, the transportation hours lost because of scheduled figure 2-15 Summary of trends in total lost transportation time (delays and unavailabilities)
From page 56...
... Summary of trends in total lost transportation time (delays and unavailabilities)
From page 57...
... Identifying major facilities where the lost transportation time due to delay or repairs is significantly higher than the river average could improve investment decisions to preserve or upgrade navigation performance. Several options exist for mitigating hours of lost transportation service.
From page 58...
... Lost transportation hours are reported in terms of hours per million tons of commerce for 2000–2013. Source: USACE Lock Use, Performance, and Characteristics, http://www.navigationdata center.us/lpms/lpms.htm, Locks by Waterway, Lock Usage, Calendar Years 1993–2013, and Locks by Waterway, Locks Unavailability, Calendar Years 1993–2013.
From page 59...
... Today, barges carry a relatively small but steady portion of freight, mainly bulk commodities that include coal, petroleum and petroleum products, food and farm products, chemicals and related products, crude materials, manufactured goods, and manufactured equipment. Annual trends in inland waterways shipments show that freight traffic is static or declining on some waterways.
From page 60...
... ta bl e 25 Su m m ar y of C or re la ti on s Be tw ee n Lo ck P er fo rm an ce a nd L oc k A ge in 2 0 14 C al cu la te d fr om th e D at e of L as t K no w n M aj or R eh ab ili ta ti on Le ve l o f C or re la ti on B et w ee n Lo ck P er fo rm an ce a nd E ff ec ti ve A ge o n a R iv er S ys te m R iv er S ys te m A ve ra ge A ge of L oc ks Lo ck ag es Pe rc en t o f V es se ls D el ay ed Pe rc en t of T ow s D el ay ed A ve ra ge V es se l D el ay A ve ra ge To w D el ay A ve ra ge C lo su re D ur at io n C lo su re Fr eq ue nc y A ll in la nd ri ve r l oc ks 61 Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w O hi o R iv er 35 Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w M is si ss ip pi R iv er 25 Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w M ed iu m Lo w Ill in oi s R iv er 22 M ed iu m Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w M ed iu m M ed iu m C ol um bi a– Sn ak e R iv er s 4 5 Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w H ig h Lo w G IW W 72 Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w A rk an sa s R iv er 4 5 Lo w M ed iu m M ed iu m M ed iu m Lo w Lo w Lo w (c on tin ue d)
From page 61...
... Bl ac k W ar ri or , T en ne ss ee , Te nn es se e– To m bi gb ee , To m bi gb ee 4 2 Lo w M ed iu m M ed iu m Lo w Lo w Lo w M ed iu m M on on ga he la R iv er 57 M ed iu m H ig h H ig h M ed iu m Lo w G ap s in da ta M ed iu m A lle gh en y R iv er 62 Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w Lo w G ap s in da ta Lo w N ot e: D el ay a nd c lo su re ( in cl ud es s ch ed ul ed a nd u ns ch ed ul ed u na va ila bi lit y)
From page 62...
... Some inland waterways segments have minimal or no freight traffic. With shrinking resources for the system and growing demands on the USACE O&M budget, targeting commercial navigation investments mainly to portions of the system important for moving freight would be prudent.
From page 63...
... This situation can occur because of seasonal peaks in the movement of certain commodities, such as harvested food and farm products, or from navigation closures caused by annually recurring weather conditions, such as ice or flooding. The tonnage moved through each lock during peak demand periods, as well as the type and value of the cargo, could be considered in funding allocations instead of considering only average annual waterway ton-miles.
From page 64...
... 2013. Waterborne Freight Transportation: Bottom Line Report.
From page 65...
... Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C. http://onlinepubs.trb.org /onlinepubs/sr/sr279.pdf.


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