2013 Session: AT030

• A Path Forward? An Examination of the Impact of Brazilian Infrastructure and Highway Development on Global Soybean Exportation Routes
  Abstract: Brazil’s presence on the international commodities market continues to grow, while its overseas clients, especially in China, grow steadily as well. Soybeans, a grain known for its uses as both meal and oil, are forecast to remain the world’s most-traded grain. As Brazil overtakes the leadership from the US as the world’s largest soybean exporter, the country is forced to deal with logistical hurdles, such as unpaved or dilapidated roads, limited rail and river networks and a congested port system. These obstacles cut deeply into producers’ profits, damaging the soybeans’ competitiveness on the international market. One project being undertaken to facilitate agricultural transportation is highway BR-163, which runs over 1,000 miles from the country’s leading exporting state, Mato Grosso, to the city Santarém, located in the Amazon region state of Pará. By shipping through the Amazon River basin and its tributaries, the goal is to reduce logistical costs. Based on up-to-date market transportation data, this article aims to evaluate the potential economic contribution of improved road conditions on overall freight expenses from farm-gate to Shanghai, China and Hamburg, Germany. Results showed that proximity to the Northern port increases the Santarém route’s economic viability in comparison to the traditionally utilized ports in the country’s more developed southern regions; nonetheless, all three soybean origin points experienced, at the least, a 30% discount when shipping to China and Germany via BR-163, under improved road conditions.
  Authors: Friend, Jonathan Daniel; Lima, Renato Silva
  Authors: Friend, Jonathan Daniel; Lima, Renato Silva
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Marine Transportation; Railroads; Motor Carriers; Rail; Freight Transportation
  Session: AT030
  Paper Number: 13-3984
• Spatial Spillover Effect of Transportation Infrastructure on Agricultural Output across the United States: An Empirical Investigation
  Abstract: This study evaluates the effect of transportation infrastructure, including roads and railroads, on agricultural output across 44 states in the U.S. from 1981 to 2004. Applying a spatial Durbin model (SDM) considering four different weight matrices, the spillover effect of transportation infrastructure is analyzed. By catching spatial dependence in both dependent and explanatory variables, the results suggest that road disbursement in a state generally has positive direct effects on its own agricultural output. The spillover effect of road infrastructure on agricultural output in neighboring states varies with respect to the spatial weight matrix used in the model. Moreover, simulation analysis based on the results using the second order of contiguity weight matrix shows that enhancement in road infrastructure in the states in the central region of the U.S. has a larger spillover effect on agricultural output compared to coastal or border states. No significant direct effect or spillover effect from rail infrastructure is identified in this study.
  Authors: Tong, Tingting; Yu, Tun-Hsiang Edward; Cho, Seong-Hoon; Jensen, Kimberly; De La Torre Ugarte, Daniel
  Authors: Tong, Tingting; Yu, Tun-Hsiang Edward; Cho, Seong-Hoon; Jensen, Kimberly; De La Torre Ugarte, Daniel
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Marine Transportation; Railroads; Motor Carriers; Rail; Freight Transportation
  Session: AT030
  Paper Number: 13-1648
• Spatial Spillover Effect of Transportation Infrastructure on Agricultural Output across the United States: An Empirical Investigation
  Authors: Yu, Tun-Hsiang
  Authors: Yu, Tun-Hsiang
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Session: AT030
  Paper Number: 13-1648
• A Path Forward? An Examination of the Impact of Brazilian Infrastructure and Highway Development on Global Soybean Exportation Routes
  Authors: Lima, Renato
  Authors: Lima, Renato
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Session: AT030
  Paper Number: 13-3984