[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71529-71531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27897]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOT-OST--2019-0184]


National Freight Strategic Plan: Request for Information

ACTION: Request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The safe and efficient movement of freight is vital to the 
Nation's economic growth and to the creation of well-paying jobs for 
millions of Americans. The Fixing America's Surface Transportation 
(FAST) Act required DOT to develop a National Freight Strategic Plan 
(NFSP) that includes eleven statutorily required components to address 
multimodal freight transportation. The Department of Transportation 
(DOT) seeks information from the public, including stakeholders (e.g., 
State and local agencies, private owners and operators, industry trade 
groups, shippers and beneficial cargo owners, etc.) to aid development 
of the NFSP.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 10, 2020. DOT 
will consider comments filed after this date to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket Number OST-
2019-0184 by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Search by using the docket number (provided above). Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the electronic docket site.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room PL-401, Washington, DC 
20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 of the Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket numbers.
    Note: All comments received, including any personal information, 
will be posted without change to the docket and is accessible via 
http://www.regulations.gov. Input submitted online via 
www.regulations.gov is not

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immediately posted to the site. It may take several business days 
before your submission is posted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Endorf at [email protected] or 
at 202-366-4835.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The nation's freight transportation system is a complex network of 
almost seven million miles of highways, railways, navigable waterways, 
and pipelines. The components of this network are linked through 
hundreds of seaports, airports, and intermodal facilities. This system 
accommodates the movement of raw materials and finished products from 
the entire spectrum of the agricultural, manufacturing, energy, retail, 
and other sectors of the United States' economy.
    The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21; Pub. 
L. 112-141) required DOT to develop a National Freight Strategic Plan 
(NFSP). On October 18, 2015, DOT issued the draft NFSP (compliant with 
the MAP-21 requirements) for public comment, available at 
www.transportation.gov/freight and at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=DOT-OST-2015-0248. On December 4, 2015, the President 
signed the FAST Act (Pub. L. 114-94) into law. Section 8001 of the FAST 
Act continues the requirement that the DOT develop an NFSP, expanding 
the focus to include a multimodal approach.
    The FAST Act required DOT to develop a National Freight Strategic 
Plan (NFSP) that included (1) an assessment of the condition and 
performance of the National Multimodal Freight Network; (2) forecasts 
of freight volumes for the succeeding 5-, 10-, and 20-year periods; (3) 
an identification of major trade gateways and national freight 
corridors that connect major population centers, trade gateways, and 
other major freight generators; (4) an identification of bottlenecks on 
the National Multimodal Freight Network that create significant freight 
congestion, based on a quantitative methodology developed by the Under 
Secretary, which shall include at a minimum--(a) information from the 
Freight Analysis Framework (FAF); and (b) to the maximum extent 
practicable, an estimate of the cost of addressing each bottleneck and 
an operational improvements that could be implemented; (5) an 
assessment of statutory, regulatory, technological, institutional, 
financial, and other barriers to improved freight transportation 
performance, and a description of opportunities for overcoming those 
barriers; (6) a process for addressing multistate projects and 
encouraging jurisdictions to collaborate; (7) strategies to improve 
freight intermodal connectivity; (8) an identification of corridors 
providing access to energy exploration, development, installation, or 
production areas; (9) an identification of corridors providing access 
to major areas for manufacturing, agriculture, or natural resources; 
(10) an identification of best practices for improving the performance 
of the National Multimodal Freight Network, including critical commerce 
corridors and rural and urban access to critical freight corridors; and 
(11) an identification of best practices to mitigate the impacts of 
freight movement on communities.
    A national freight strategy will be helpful to inform 
infrastructure planning and to support future freight efficiencies. The 
safe and efficient movement of freight is vital to the Nation's 
economic growth and to the creation of well-paying jobs for millions of 
Americans. In 2015, the U.S. transportation system moved approximately 
49 million tons of freight per day worth more than $52 billion and DOT 
estimates 13.3 million people were employed in transportation or 
transportation-related industries in 2017. DOT estimates the net value 
of U.S. transportation capital to be $7.7 trillion in 2016 with the 
public sector owning $4.2 trillion and the private sector owning $3.5 
trillion. DOT estimates that freight tonnage will increase by 44 
percent between 2015 and 2045 which will place increasing strain on our 
Nation's freight system. Today, that freight system moves approximately 
18 billion tons of freight every year across all the modes, but 
congestion has been increasing, particularly on our Nation's highways. 
The trucking industry experienced almost 1.2 billion hours of delay in 
2016 because of traffic congestion on the National Highway System, at a 
cost of $34 billion in truck driver wages, not including wasted fuel 
and increased inventory carrying costs for affected shippers and 
beneficial cargo owners (BCOs). Prior to 2005, virtually all crude oil 
was moved via pipeline; however, by 2011, rail shipments of crude oil 
have increased substantially and increases in domestic energy 
production, including increased liquefied natural gas movements will 
require more interplay between pipelines, rail, and tanker/barge 
movements. Air cargo transportation is particularly important for high 
value commodities, such as electronics and pharmaceuticals, and the FAF 
projects air cargo to be the fastest growing freight mode with annual 
tonnage growth of 4.3 percent.
    Rural and urban citizens and businesses depend on the safe and 
efficient movement of freight. Many agricultural, energy, raw inputs, 
and other natural resources to our manufacturing products originate in 
rural areas, such as farm commodities, coal and other fuel inputs, and 
raw materials. Approximately two-thirds of freight tonnage shipped by 
rail in the U.S. originates in rural areas. Urban areas drive domestic 
freight demand and depend on reliable deliveries from ports and 
railroads by trucks via freight intermodal connectors to meet that 
demand. To safely and efficiently deliver goods to consumers, freight 
supply chains have become increasingly complex and shippers and BCOs 
are reliant on the interplay between multiple transportation modes. 
More than ever, transportation planning and infrastructure investment, 
particularly for freight, must be considered within the broader systems 
context that accounts for all modes and both public- and private-sector 
actors to retain the United States' global competitive advantage.
    DOT recognizes the importance of engaging with the public and 
private industry to develop a clear, national vision for freight 
transportation that is inclusive of both public- and private-sector 
perspectives. Through State Freight Plans, all fifty States and the 
District of Columbia have contemplated the importance and impacts of 
freight movement to their local and regional economy and have developed 
infrastructure investment plans to improve freight flows across their 
States. As daily users of the system, private sector and non-public 
perspectives are vital inputs for understanding operational challenges 
along the freight system.
    DOT seeks information directly from the public and stakeholders to 
inform development of this national freight strategy. DOT seeks 
comments and relevant information on any of the eleven statutorily 
defined plan components (as noted above); in addition, DOT specifically 
requests comments and data in response to the following questions:
    1. What are the three most important challenges facing the U.S. 
freight transportation system?
    2. What should be long- and short-term national freight system 
goals? How can States, local agencies, and private stakeholders most 
effectively advance these national goals?

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    3. How should DOT measure freight transportation system 
performance? In your response, consider both safety and efficiency, as 
well as performance thresholds across multimodal metrics (i.e., hours 
of delay, infrastructure conditions, planning time index) that 
represent untenable performance for the public or private sector. 
Consider how performance metrics could be employed to inform DOT's 
discretionary grant programs.
    4. What industry freight-specific knowledge is critical to 
understanding supply chains and how economic trends impact freight 
logistics and cargo movements? How can such data and/or knowledge be 
procured or shared amongst public and private sector partners? Are 
there technological innovations, such as Blockchain and the Internet of 
Things (IoT), that DOT should know about?
    5. What should be considered regarding vital operational or 
equipment innovations, emerging technology advances from research 
communities, as well as infrastructure or facility concepts in freight 
transportation?
    6. What approach should the federal government use to invest in the 
multimodal freight system? How would this approach apply to each 
transportation mode, for freight in general, for specific industries, 
or for freight assets owned by the private sector (i.e., rail, 
pipelines, maritime)? What are best practices for identifying projects 
that involve both public and private sector assets and for encouraging 
communication between the public and private sector to complete those 
projects?
    7. What barriers (such as regulatory, technological, institutional, 
statutory) are critical to freight efficiency that DOT should better 
understand? Please consider which of these affect freight origination 
and/or destination areas, as well as intermodal transfers, and describe 
the root causes of the inefficiencies.
    8. What information is critical to understanding the unique 
infrastructure and operational freight impacts faced by local 
communities? Please detail any best practices in economic development 
and planning processes that support freight intensive activity or 
innovative financing. Describe current and prospective infrastructure 
safety enhancements that should be considered.
    9. How would you define a bottleneck in your industry? (Consider 
both surface and maritime transportation).
    10. What else should DOT consider (including the eleven statutory 
criteria listed above) or do to improve freight transportation in the 
U.S.?

Public Comment

    The DOT invites comments by all those interested in the draft 
National Freight Strategic Plan. Comments on the draft NFSP may be 
submitted and viewed at Docket Number DOT-OST-2019-0184. The web 
address is: XXXXXX. Comments must be received on or before [45 days 
from posting of this notice] to receive full consideration by DOT with 
respect to the final NFSP. After [45 days from posting of this notice], 
comments will continue to be available for viewing by the public.

    Dated: December 19, 2019.
Joel Szabat,
Acting Under Secretary Transportation for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2019-27897 Filed 12-26-19; 8:45 am]
BILLINGCODE 4910-9X-P