Simplistic Geospatial Techniques in Analyzing Transportation Dynamics for Origin-Destination Container Movement Routes in the United States

Spatial analyses incorporating rudimentary techniques are essential to understand container transportation. Most transportation datasets are offered as raw disjoint data containing dissimilar attributes from different sources making them difficult to fathom any spatial linkages. Route optimization and market accessibility are increasingly becoming important and significant as newer container decongestion methods are put in place. Origin-Destination dichotomies can best be harnessed in the United States by optimizing routes based on available databases. In this study, the Public Use Waybill sample database from Surface Transporation Board were used as preliminary inputs for inland railway route optimization. The paper utilized an approach akin to one used in riverine management to optimize container routes. From the primer databases, in as much as most import containers originate from Asia and Europe and shipped to the U.S. through specific North American ports, a significant portion gets to inland markets through Pacific coast in the U.S. The main hub ports for import containers are Los Angeles/Long Beach and Seattle for transpacific trade and New York/New Jersey and Savannah for transatlantic trade. An anomalous and notably high volume flow can be observed between the Pacific coast and the Mississippi valley area including metropolitan areas like Minneapolis, Chicago, Kansas City, Memphis, Dallas, and Houston. Assessing movement in the Midwest to east U.S., most container traffic volume passes through New York/New Jersey and Norfolk to end in Chicago. It can thus be surmised that an in-depth preliminary assessment of container routing can provide a parametric basis for higher-level cost and multi-modal analyses.

摘要空间分析及基础技术应用是研究集装箱运输的必要手段。大部分交通运输数据集由不同出处、关联性不强的原始数据组成，因而很难得到其空间分布特点。同时，集装箱路径优化和市场可达性在缓解集装箱运输拥堵方面的作用日益凸显。本文基于可用数据库对美国集装箱运输OD分布进行分析。以美国水陆运输理事会的公共货票数据库数据作为内陆铁路线路优化的原始输入。利用类似河流管理的方法优化集装箱运输路径。从进口集装箱的数据集看，从亚洲或者欧洲出发经由北美港口到达美国的集装箱，大部分经由太平洋海岸到达内陆市场。横渡太平洋贸易的进口集装箱枢纽港主要是洛杉矶、长滩和西雅图。横渡大西洋贸易的进口集装箱枢纽港主要是纽约、新泽西州和萨。。太平洋海岸和密西西比河谷地区包括阿尼阿波利斯、芝加哥、堪萨斯城、孟菲斯、达拉斯和休斯顿的流量很高。从美国中西部至东部的集装箱流多经过纽约、新泽西州和诺福克最后到达芝加哥。对于集装箱运输OD分布的分析可以为高成本和多式联运相关分析提供数据基础。