2013 Session: AW020

• Targeting Inland Port Sustainability
  Abstract: This paper serves as a literature review and assessment of port sustainability and its potential applications for the inland river ports of Kentucky and the surrounding region. The paper discusses and defines sustainability, both generally as it relates to business and industry and specifically as it relates to the port industry and the inland port industry. Given the unique nature of the inland port industry, this review finds that the most effective methods of pursuing port sustainability have been those that employ strategies of sustainable supply chain management. To help illustrate this conclusion, the paper reviews the sustainability challenges facing various domestic and international ports, as well as some of the policy initiatives undertaken to meet these challenges. Finally, it proposes a research model for examining Kentucky port sustainability that centers on taking the lessons learned from major coastal ports and applying them to the inland port industry. The preliminary results indicate that ports along the region’s inland waterways would have little difficulty adopting the sustainability practices of coastal ports so long as they focus on two types of initiatives. The first being the adoption of simple business general sustainability practices and the second being the enticing of port tenants, operators, and customers to become more sustainable. Alternatively, the more large scale “in house” sustainability initiatives undertaken at coastal ports are likely an over reaching for inland ports at this time.
  Authors: Stevens, Lewis Shane; Kreis, Doug; McCormack, Sarah
  Authors: Stevens, Lewis Shane; Kreis, Doug; McCormack, Sarah
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Freight Transportation; Marine Transportation
  Session: AW020
  Paper Number: 13-4070
• Structured Analysis / Predictive Model for Inland Waterway Systems
  Abstract: The inland waterway system serves as a vital conduit for the movement of goods throughout our nation. In fact, it provides the primary means to ship large commodity flows, including agricultural goods and bulk commodities such as coal and gravel. However, the inland waterway system faces multiple challenges in its bid to efficiently move freight cargo going forward. For instance, the locks and dams within this system are increasingly coming under duress with many having outlived their design life. This has led to increased service outages and delays for commercial vessels traversing them. Furthermore, severe weather conditions ranging from major flooding to severe droughts have in recent years negatively impacted the flow of vessel traffic on the river by reducing the frequency and quantity of shipments. This study will seek to assess the impacts of those conditions, among others, on the inland waterway system and how they play a role in determining system capacity. The capacity of the inland waterway system is its ability to accommodate vessel traffic and is a measure which will be more fully defined during the course of this study. Furthermore, a model will be developed, incorporating regression analysis, identifying those variables which most affect system capacity. This model will be able to process “what-if” scenarios and determine how system capacity is affected when variables deviate from a baseline. Finally, this model will provide policy makers and decision authorities with scenario-driven analysis options to assist them in their investment prioritization decisions.
  Authors: Howell, Brian Kirtley; Kreis, Doug; Van Dyke, Chris; McCormack, Sarah
  Authors: Howell, Brian Kirtley; Kreis, Doug; Van Dyke, Chris; McCormack, Sarah
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Freight Transportation; Marine Transportation
  Session: AW020
  Paper Number: 13-4140
• Efficiency, Security, Sustainability: A Proposed Inland Waterway Management System
  Abstract: This concept paper will introduce a project for the more efficient management of the United States inland waterway transportation sector. Given the manifold ways that the supply chain landscape in changing in response to broader economic pressures, this paper proposes a national system for rationalizing inland maritime transportation through the deployment of advanced technological systems to coordinate between stakeholders. In this paper, we propose a five-phase plan to develop an Inland Waterway Supply Chain Management System that would allow government agencies, shippers, ports, AND lock-and-dam operators, access to timely information. This coordination would lead to improved efficiencies throughout the supply chain, and deliver economic, environmental, and safety benefits that extend far beyond the maritime transportation sector. This proposal is advanced through an exploration of the waterway system characteristics of a pilot area stretching from Cairo, IL, to Cincinnati, OH. The proposed project detailed in the paper could rectify a number of ongoing issues that prevent more high value good and commodities from being shipped on the inland waterway system, takes into account specific changes to the US shipping industry, and offers assessment criteria for phased implementation.
  Authors: Bigger, Patrick McGregor; Kreis, Doug; McCormack, Sarah
  Authors: Bigger, Patrick McGregor; Kreis, Doug; McCormack, Sarah
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Freight Transportation; Marine Transportation
  Session: AW020
  Paper Number: 13-5144
• Targeting Inland Port Sustainability
  Authors: Stevens, Lewis
  Authors: Stevens, Lewis
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Session: AW020
  Paper Number: 13-4070