STG professionals have each worked-in or consulted on transportation-related issues for over 30 years.  Research and consulting assignments are performed by multidisciplinary teams of professionals drawn from our own staff, or in conjunction with outside associates.  Assistance to clients has typically included:

• Competitive assessments of proposed products and services
• Market analysis and forecasting of passenger and freight demand and traffic
• Development of customized state-of-the art economic models
• Program and facility cost analysis; benefit cost analyses
• Economic and technological analysis of government policies and regulations.

Clients have included government agencies as well as private sector entities.  Much of the survey research associated with these transportation studies has involved interviews with customers, carriers or shippers to define key factors influencing buying decisions.

The following are a few sample project descriptions; a fuller set of qualifications and prior project abstracts are available upon request.

Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Research Support

STG's Senior Economist has frequently been requested to assist clients with operational, market, economic and financial analysis of diverse ITS functions and products.  Recent research has supported investigations into such areas as:

• Advanced Traffic Management (ATM) Systems such as intelligent roadways, signalization, or other developments that increase traffic throughput.
• Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) and use of transponders and similar reporting and collection technology
• Public Vehicle Transportation Management Systems (PVTMS) including impacts of messaging signs, affects of improved public transportation coordination, forecasts of on-demand buses on ridership, and the like.  
• Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) as a means of improving fleet management through the application of such technologies as satellite communication and central dispatch monitoring.

Some of the information from these reports was presented in papers to ITS American and the ITS World Congress.

The Outlook for Two-Cycle, Air-Cooled Engines in Selected Recreational Vehicle Markets

This study examined the outlook in North America for two-cycle, air-cooled engines in selected recreational vehicle markets.  The project team identified and projected markets for such vehicles, determined functional requirements of the engines, and recommended a business strategy for North American markets.

Analysis of Truck Transportation of Hazardous Chemicals

TDS Economics and STG professionals completed a study for the U.S. Department of Transportation on truck transportation of hazardous chemicals (excluding fuels) in the United States.  The study first identified the large volume chemicals that account for at least 80% of total hazardous chemical truck shipments.  A second task involved the development of a method for using secondary sources, a limited number of telephone discussions and interviews, and a gravity model to estimate the ton-miles of truck movements of each of the chemicals evaluated through each state.

Passenger and Freight Forecasts for a Proposed High Speed Rail Line

STG and TDS Economics professionals developed passenger and freight forecasts for a proposed high speed rail line in Spain.  The forecasts included estimates of the number of passengers who would switch from conventional rail to high speed rail and from air and car to high speed rail, and the ability to attract new passengers who are not currently traveling along the route (induced effects).  Passenger forecasts relied on a model that incorporated estimates of the elasticity of demand for travel with respect to population densities, price and travel time.  Freight forecasts were based on existing freight movements and cost and travel time comparisons.  The results of the model were used to help evaluate alternative routes for the propose high speed rail line.

Economic Impact Analysis of the Maritime Industry

TDS Economics and STG professionals evaluated the economic impacts of the maritime industry on the states of California, Oregon, and Washington.  The study involved a survey of major carriers, ports, shipyards, NVOCCs, forwarders and others involved in the industry.  Using data provided by the survey and from secondary sources, the direct contribution of the maritime industry to employment, earnings, tax payments, and output for each state was determined.  Using Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis multipliers, additional (indirect and induced) effects on each of the states were estimated. 

Pacific Airfreight Market Forecasts

STG professionals described in detail and forecast the airfreight market between the United States and Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the ASEAN countries for the cargo division of Singapore Airlines.  The report also identified key imports and exports in this market.  The project team analyzed the type of industry, origin-destination markets, and the potential for diverting ocean freight to air.  Extensive personal and mail-out surveys were conducted to assist in the growth forecast.  A 7-year forecast was made for selected commodities by U.S. region and nation of origin or destination.