00372253

Component

http://onlinepubs.trb.org...s/trr/1982/880/880-005.pdf

https://scholar.google.co...tman&publication_year=1982

Aggregate productivity measurements for surface freight transportation are made, limited to a single measure of output--net ton-miles of transportation produced--for measured inputs of labor, capital, and energy. The ton-mile output measure was selected because it is shown that inland barge carriers and railroads, the principal comparison made, carry cargoes that average out to nearly the same density, 60-65 lb/cu ft. In addition, equipment use by rail and barge is compared. Barges are shown to be more productive than railroads by all measures studied. The analysis shows that labor productivity for water, measured in ton-miles per employee year, is four to five times greater than for rail for selected periods beginning in 1955. An average annual aggregate labor productivity growth rate of about 10 percent is shown for both water and rail. In contrast, truck productivity shows little gain over the period. Inland water capital productivity, measured in ton-miles per dollar of investment, is two to three times that of rail. Comparisons of water and truck show that investments in water transportation have been four to seven times more productive in recent years. On a route-mile basis, barging ranges from more than twice as energy efficient to nearly four times as energy efficient as rail. When circuity is taken into account--for example, for shipments between Minneapolis and New Orleans--barges continue to outperform railroads in energy productivity, the extent depending on which of the many available rail routes is used. In comparisons of barge use and rail freight-car use, rail freight-car use is found to be substantially lower and to have declined in recent years. (Author)

Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on State Role in Waterborne Transportation. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

01495119

pp 22-26

1982

Transportation Research Record

61st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board

0309034671

Print

References (21) ; Tables (5)

Alternatives analysis; Barges; Costs; Energy consumption; Financial capital; Freight transportation; Inland waterways; Labor costs; Productivity; Railroad transportation; Ton miles; Trucking

Economics; Energy; Finance; Freight Transportation; Highways; Marine Transportation; Motor Carriers; Operations and Traffic Management; Railroads; Society; I10: Economics and Administration

TRIS, TRB

May 31 1983 12:00AM

• ANALYSIS OF LOCK CAPACITY BY SIMULATION
• FERRY-SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS: PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION FOR LONG ISLAND SOUND FERRY CROSSINGS
• HIGH-SPEED COMMUTER FERRY SERVICE: THE BOSTON EXPERIENCE
• INVENTORY OF POTENTIAL STRUCTURAL AND NONSTRUCTURAL ALTERNATIVES FOR INCREASING NAVIGATION CAPACITY OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER SYSTEM
• MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF INLAND WATERWAY PORT OPERATIONS
• New York Ports and the Expanding Coal Markets
• STUDY OF BARGE LINE-HAUL RATES (ABRIDGMENT)