The University of Toledo University Transportation Center

Focus Area: Infrastructure Utilization

Principal Investigator:

Peter S. Lindquist, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Geography and Planning
The University of Toledo
419.530.4287
Peter.Lindquist@utoledo.edu          

Project Dates: 05/03/2007 – 08/31/2008

UT-UTC Designation: UTUTC-IU-2

Abstract:

The purpose of this proposed project is to extend the Great Lakes Maritime Information Delivery System to include data for market opportunities for shippers and carriers for diverting freight to the Great Lakes Maritime Transportation System (GL MTS). The Great Lakes Maritime Information Delivery System is a comprehensive data repository and information clearinghouse for the maritime industry in the Great Lakes and Seaway. The main objective for the system is to promote sustainable maritime transportation in the region by serving as an information resource for public policy decision making and for drawing the link between maritime freight movements, economic viability, and environmental quality throughout the region. The system is designed to be a diversified web-based information delivery site that houses a detailed data repository consisting of 1) vessel movements and commodity flows, 2) port and dock functions, 3) regional economic activity, 4) regional population/socioeconomic patterns, and 5) environmental impacts. To date, the development of the system has concentrated on developing an information base that emphasizes regional economic impact of the GL MTS, linking the GL MTS to the wider regional intermodal freight system, safety, environmental impacts/benefits, shipper savings, rate comparisons, and congestion effects of other modes compared to GL MTS. The project proposed here will enable users to retrieve data concerning such factors as Tonnages, Value of Cargo, Scheduled Service, Ship Technologies, Dock and Port Facilities, Intermodal Connections and Transshipment Costs. As a result, data will be made available for developing market plans that can identify key decision makers and market segments that can be served by the GL MTS, tonnages and cargo values associated with those markets, scheduled service and frequency of service that can be established, and ship technologies that can be used to optimize flows through the system.

UT-UTC Grant Amount
Match Amount
Total Project Budget

$ 26,283
$ 27,322
$ 53,605

Click here for a 20 page PDF of the final report