Using Data-driven Approaches to Advance a Safe, Resilient, and Efficient Freight System

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center helps public agencies and other freight stakeholders strengthen freight safety, improve system resiliency, reduce delays, and prioritize infrastructure, vehicle, and operational investments using data, engineering, planning, and field-tested tools.

Our Approach

• Maintain deep multidisciplinary expertise to address complex freight problems with deployable solutions.
• Employ a multimodal perspective to provide end-to-end freight analysis across truck, rail, water, pipeline, intermodal, and air transportation.
• Prioritize data-driven decision-making through open-source and production-ready platforms for scenario analysis, visualization, and decision support.
• Focus on practical, transferable results to by developing tech transfer programs, training courses, guidance, and support that help agencies adopt what works.

Our Capabilities

Artificial Intelligence and Innovation
Rapidly prototype and evaluate real-time congestion and border-crossing visibility to reduce wait times and costs. Perform technology assessments for new options in freight transport such as automated vehicles, alternative energy.

Safety and Security
Improve vehicle, operator, and hazardous cargo safety. Support commercial-vehicle inspection and modernize intervention approaches. Assess, test, and recommend best practices in cybersecurity across freight systems and technologies. Evaluate risks for hazardous materials and ammunition/explosives transport.

Infrastructure Analysis, Planning, and Optimization
Model scenarios, assess conditions and performance of multimodal freight infrastructure, including highway, rail, and port analyses. Develop and deploy tools to optimize routing, fuel usage, costs, disaster recovery, and resilience across modes and commodities.

Economic Analysis and Policy Analysis
Provide benefit-cost and throughput analyses that underpin grantmaking and programmatic decisions. Support infrastructure prioritization and supply chain performance analyses.

Strategic Planning and Program Development
Advise public sector leaders and elected officials on system-wide freight policies, priorities, and initiatives. Translate Department goals into prioritized, data-driven “to do lists” for freight programs and investment decisions enabling efficient implementation of new initiatives.

Our Work in Action

Safety and Security

Truck Operator Safety Analysis
Supporting commercial truck crash analysis, licensing, and driver education programs

• Measuring FMCSA Safety Program Effectiveness Measurement: Carrier Intervention Effectiveness Model (CIEM)
• Completing the Picture of Crashes: Understanding FMCSA Data Needs and Opportunities for Road Safety
• Reducing Commercial Motor Vehicle-involved Crash Risks: FMCSA’s Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Program
• Creating an Online Database for Reporting Drug and Alcohol Violations: FMCSA’s CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse
• Setting Baseline Training Requirements for Entry-level Drivers: FMCSA’s Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) Program

Motor Carrier Safety Technology
Preparing commercial trucking for in-motion inspections and automated driving systems

• Improving the Safety of Commercial Motor Vehicle Operations with In-Motion Roadside Inspections
• Using Systems Modeling to Help FMCSA Prepare for Automated Driving Systems
• Developing an Emergency Response Framework for Automated Driving System-equipped Commercial Motor Vehicles
• Reviewing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for Automated Commercial Vehicles

Freight Vehicle Safety
Improving truck safety through direct vision of pedestrians and cyclists

• Researching Safety Impacts of Truck Lateral Protective Devices (LPD)
• Optimizing Large Vehicles for Urban Environments
• Measuring MassDOT State and Local Fleet Direct Vision
• Comparing Heavy Duty Truck and Pedestrian Crashes at Signalized Intersections
• Supporting Boston Blind Zone Safety Initiative: Current Fleet Analysis, Market Scan, and Proposed Direct Vision Rating Framework
• Developing NYC Safe Fleet Transition Plan and Progress

Global Maritime Domain Awareness
Developing and deploying cost-effective, user-friendly vessel tracking networks that improve maritime situational awareness worldwide

• Developing, Operating, and Maintaining Global Automatic Identification System-based Data Aggregation and Dissemination System: Maritime Safety & Security Information System (MSSIS)
• Developing and Implementing the U.K.’s Remote Access Movements Portal
• Developing, Operating, and Maintaining Global Maritime Domain Awareness Tool: SeaVision

Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Cybersecurity
Ensuring PNT resiliency and identifying current and emerging technologies to assess their cybersecurity risks and recommending cybersecurity best practices for freight operators and their technologies

• Supporting U.S. DOT Pilot Programs for Addressing PNT Resilience
• Assessing Cybersecurity and Best Practices for Truck Stop Technologies

Safety of Ammunition and Explosives Cargo
Overseeing the safe operation of motor carriers transporting ammunition and explosives (AE) cargo

• Building T-SMART, a Tool to Identify Carriers Posing Highest Safety Risk When Transporting AE and Recommend Targeted Interventions

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Safety, Security, Sustainability
Ensuring the emerging class of AAM operators integrate safely into the National Airspace System as companies create innovative AAM aircraft for use in emergency response and delivery of cargo, packages, and passengers

• Studying AAM Automation (NASA)
• Demonstrating Skyports Delivery Demo Flight with MassDOT
• Measuring and Modeling Noise Impacts

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, and Logistics

Infrastructure Analysis and Planning
Assessing freight infrastructure conditions and performance and building resilient multimodal freight infrastructure systems

• Delivering U.S. DOT National Freight Strategic Plan (and 2025 Update)
• Assessing Staying on the Rails with Vehicle-Track Interactions
• Researching Highway Freight Conditions and Performance via Biennial Report to Congress

Port and Inland Waterway Performance
Analyzing freight tonnage, capacity, and throughput statistics at the nation’s top ports and waterways and developing strategies to improve waterborne freight system performance

• Delivering Port Performance Freight Statistics Program: Annual Report to Congress
• Researching Opportunities for Maritime Highway Transportation in the Gulf of Mexico, Puget Sound, and Salish Sea System

Supply Chain Performance and Optimization
Improving real-time visibility across supply chain infrastructure and identifying opportunities to optimize flows

• Developing U.S. DOT Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) Data Platform
• Developing Inaugural FLOW Promotional Toolkit and Marketing Campaign
• Creating, Managing, and Using the Freight and Fuel Optimization Tool (FTOT)

Innovation
Using rapid prototyping artificial intelligence (AI)-based strategies to monitor congestion by lane and vehicle-type at border crossings

• Estimating Border Waiting and Crossing Times with Computer Vision
• Evaluating NYC Intelligent Speed Assistance Pilot
• Studying Intelligent Speed Assistance Best Practices

Capacity Planning and Program Development
Supporting strategic freight stakeholder coordination, freight program development, and professional capacity building activities

• Developing National Highway Freight Network (NHFN) Visualization & Analysis Tool
• Supporting FHWA Freight Office’s Peer-to-Peer Technical Assistance Program

Economics and Environment

Agricultural Freight Performance
Highlighting the economic importance of American infrastructure for the efficient movement of agricultural products

• Researching the Importance of Highways to U.S. Agriculture
• Studying the Importance of Inland Waterways to U.S. Agriculture

Cost of Delay
Evaluating freight costs from delays due to rail and road network closures

• Analyzing Delay Costs in Transportation Incidents of Hazardous Materials by Rail
• Estimating Delay and Environmental Costs of Truck Crashes

Discretionary Grant Program Support
Providing technical analysis, benefit-cost reviews for discretionary grant programs that support freight investments

Low-sulfur Fuel Container Surcharge
Studying low-sulfur fuel regulations and container shipping fuel charge model and assumptions

International Cargo Economic Price Adjustment Factors
Informing rates for USTRANSCOM that address exposure to marine and freight shipping input price variability inherent to the Universal Services Contract

• Refreshing Universal Service Contract-10 Economic Price Adjustment Factor Update: Bunker, Currency, and Fuel Adjustment Factors

Our Partners in Freight and Logistics

Federal Agencies

• U.S. Department of Transportation
  • Office of the Secretary
  • PHMSA
  • FMCSA
  • FHWA
  • FRA
  • MARAD
  • BTS
  • FAA
  • ITS JPO
• U.S. Department of Defense
  • Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM)
  • Office of Naval Research
  • U.S. Navy
• U.S. Department of Agriculture
• U.S. Department of Energy
• NASA

State and Local Agencies

• Massachusetts Department of Transportation
• City of Boston
• City of New York

Other Partners

• United Kingdom Ministry of Defence
• Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
• Oregon State University