Publication of EBP Research on Economic Effects of Freight and Intermodal Access

Now published in Transportation Research Record journal – new empirical research by EBP that shows how business clustering and associated productivity effects extend far beyond urban agglomeration, reflecting a range of needs to access local and regional population markets, supplier and customer markets, and intermodal gateways for access to broader global markets.

These different types of accessibility have significant economic development and productivity effects that are particularly important for transportation planners who need to evaluate proposals for freight and passenger modal investments connecting communities and intermodal facilities. This publication brings together three complementary perspectives: (a) transportation planning literature that distinguishes types of transportation investment and plans; (b) site location literature that defines business location decision processes and their spatial scale, and (c) economic research that provides a basis for defining scale economies and productivity effects.

This presents results of a new US study that develops statistical relationships between types of accessibility and industries in terms of their relative concentration and productivity at a county level. It discusses the implications of these findings in terms practical applications for improving transportation investment planning and needs for further research.

Reference: Weisbrod, G., & Goldberg, J. (2022). Relationship of Regional, Freight, and Intermodal Market Access to Industry Location and Productivity. Transportation Research Record, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221131306

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