Job Creation Factors for Inland and Near Dock Intermodal Facilities

The major driving forces behind the establishment of intermodal facilities include number of jobs that will be created by the facility, freight performance improvement, and other economic benefits to the region. Job creation is the most tangible benefit that stakeholders use to justify the development of such facilities. This project explores different job creation factors for intermodal facilities in terms of facility types, management structures, financing options, and activitiesperformed. Near port and hinterland type facilities are analyzed separately. This project tests several hypotheses statistically to find the correlations among different job creation factors. The result shows that the public landlord model facility creates more jobs than the private operator model. The result also shows that facilities connected with well-established transportation network systems usually produce more jobs. INTRODUCTION In today’s growing global economy, intermodal facilities have become increasingly popular as a method of increasing efficiency and decreasing costs across the entire spectrum of supply chain operations. Regions across the country are seeking to establish intermodal facilities as a means to fostereconomic development and jobs. In order for a facility to be considered intermodal it must be accessible by more than one mode of transportation such as truck, rail, ship/barge, or plane. These facilities have various characteristics and a range of job creation results. This research attempts to identify what characteristics of intermodal freight facilities leads to greater intermodal related job creation. Specifically, it examines rail-to-truck container transfer facilities sited in inland locations and facilities near seaports that handle containers. Statistical analysis indicates that intermodal facilities should not be a “field of dreams” approach to job creation. Regions that already have an established intermodal industry appear to benefit most from the development of facilities. For both inland and near port facilities, larger facilities with greater capacity do not necessarily lead toward greater job creation.Despite being private sector driven infrastructure, the public sector can play an important role in developing these facilities in order to achieve better job creation outcomes. Intermodal Freight Facilities There are several ways to categorize intermodal facilities. This study focuses on freight mobility and does not consider passenger intermodal facilities (e.g., bus stations). A Transportation Research Board guide to intermodal facilities categorized various types of freight facilities by their function: Distribution Centers Hub Terminals Ports City Terminals Intermodal Terminals Integrated Logistics Center or Freight Village Bulk or Transload Terminals For this study, we are examining sites that function as intermodal terminals located either near a water port or inland. Various nomenclaturesareused for these types of facilities. Terms used to describe facilities that handle containerized cargo transfer between modes includes inland port, dry port, container freight station, inland freight terminal, container freight station (CFS), and intermodal freight center (IFC). For the purposes of this study, we will use the term intermodal freight facility (IFF).