Federal planning legislation and regulations now mandate that state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations consider the needs of freight when planning and programming transportation investments. While there are standard techniques used to forecast the movement of people, less attention has been paid to forecasting freight movements, and there are consequently fewer standardized techniques that state and local agencies can adapt to their local situation. This Toolkit is designed to provide transportation planners with the information they need to prepare forecasts of freight transportation by highlighting techniques successfully developed by state agencies across the country.

" TRB's second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report S2-C20-RR-1: Freight Demand Modeling and Data Improvement documents the state of the practice for freight demand modeling. The report also explores the fundamental changes in freight modeling, and data and data collection that could help public and private sector decision-makers make better and more informed decisions. SHRP 2 Capacity Project C20, which produced Report S2-C20-RR-1, also produced the following items: A Freight Demand Modeling and Data Improvement Strategic Plan, which outlines seven strategic objectives that are designed to serve as the basis for future innovation in freight travel demand forecasting and data, and to guide both near- and long-term implementation: A speaker's kit, which is intended to be a "starter" set of materials for use in presenting the freight modeling and data improvement strategic plan to a group of interested professionals; and; A 2010 Innovations in Freight Demand Modeling and Data Symposium " -- publisher's description

"TRB's National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) Report 22: Freight Data Cost Elements identifies the specific types of direct freight transportation cost data elements required for public investment, policy, and regulatory decisionmaking. The report also describes and assesses different strategies for identifying and obtaining the needed cost data elements"--Publisher's description.

"This report presents an evaluation of possible improvements in freight demand models and other analysis tools and provides a guidebook to assist model developers in implementing these improvements. The report is especially valuable for its findings of general satisfaction with methods available to support freight planning, but concerns with the data available to support that planning. As such, the report focuses on ways to use existing data to develop data inputs for the model, showing that existing and readily available data can be used to develop the inputs required by freight models. The report will enable decision makers at a range of geographical levels to improve the usability of freight demand models."--Pub. desc.

A multi-disciplinary approach to transportation planning fundamentals The Transportation Planning Handbook is a comprehensive, practice-oriented reference that presents the fundamental concepts of transportation planning alongside proven techniques. This new fourth edition is more strongly focused on serving the needs of all users, the role of safety in the planning process, and transportation planning in the context of societal concerns, including the development of more sustainable transportation solutions. The content structure has been redesigned with a new format that promotes a more functionally driven multimodal approach to planning, design, and implementation, including guidance toward the latest tools and technology. The material has been updated to reflect the latest changes to major transportation resources such as the HCM, MUTCD, HSM, and more, including the most current ADA accessibility regulations. Transportation planning has historically followed the rational planning model of defining objectives, identifying problems, generating and evaluating alternatives, and developing plans. Planners are increasingly expected to adopt a more multi-disciplinary approach, especially in light of the rising importance of sustainability and environmental concerns. This book presents the fundamentals of transportation planning in a multidisciplinary context, giving readers a practical reference for day-to-day answers. Serve the needs of all users Incorporate safety into the planning process Examine the latest transportation planning software packages Get up to date on the latest standards, recommendations, and codes Developed by The Institute of Transportation Engineers, this book is the culmination of over seventy years of transportation planning solutions, fully updated to reflect the needs of a changing society. For a comprehensive guide with practical answers, The Transportation Planning Handbook is an essential reference.

This book contains select keynote and resource papers, as well as workshop reports, from the 12th International Conference on Travel Behaviour Research that was organized by the International Association for Travel Behaviour Research (IATBR) in Jaipur, India during December 13-18, 2009.

"TRB joint National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 739/National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) Report 19: Freight Trip Generation and Land Use explores the relationship between freight trip generation and land use. The report consolidates available freight trip generation models in an electronic database to assist practitioners interested in using these models; identifies potential approaches to develop and apply freight trip generation models; and estimates establishment-level freight trip generation models in a number of case studies."--Publisher's description.

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 147: Toolkit for Estimating Demand for Rural Intercity Bus Services provides a sketch-planning guide and supporting CD-ROM–based tools that can be used to forecast demand for rural intercity bus services.

TRB's Special Report 297: Funding Options for Freight Transportation Projects explores ways to pay for projects that expand freight capacity or reduce the costs of freight transportation. The committee that produced the report found that present finance arrangements are inadequate for maintaining and improving freight transportation system performance. The report calls for finance reforms that promote productivity gains by targeting investment to projects with the greatest economic benefit and by encouraging efficient use of facilities.