FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES

To give the reader a sense of the region, each mode of transportation is briefly described with an emphasis on the facilities that provide interregional connectivity. 

1. Highways

The metropolitan area is served by Interstate I-64, U.S. Primary Routes 60, 52, and 23; and State Primary Routes 75, 2, 152, 10, 37 and 7.

2. Rail

CSX Corporation, Norfolk Southern and Amtrak (rail passenger service) operate a main line through the metro area.  This line provides rail connections for passengers and freight to all parts of the country.

3. River

Bisecting the region, the Ohio River is one of the busiest arteries in the nation for water transportation.  Barge service from 36 loading facilities moves 30.9 million tons of freight annually between national and international ports.

4. Air

The Huntington area is served by the Tri-State Airport.  Tri-State Airport facilities and services include daily departures to hub centers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  and Atlanta, Georgia , as well as air cargo services, Charter service and general aviation.  The Lawrence County Airport also provides facilities for general aviation.

TRANSPORTATION AND INTERMODAL EFFICIENCY

The rugged terrain of West Virginia, combined with its widely dispersed population, leaves the State with transportation needs that are markedly different from those required in other areas of the United States.  Historically, these differences have disadvantaged the State, leaving its residents both physically and economically isolated.

Starting in the early 1960’s, however, both federal and regional transport policies began to more effectively address the State’s transport needs by augmenting existing rail and barge transport networks with significant new highway capacity.  The diversification of the State’s transportation infrastructure has played an important role in a similar diversification of available economic opportunities. This broader range of economic activities, in turn, affords the West Virginia a greater degree of protection from the highly cyclical economic patterns observed in heavy manufacturing and resource extraction.

Clearly, the past four decades demonstrate the important link between transportation infrastructure and economic development.  However, it would be incorrect to conclude that West Virginia has achieved its full economic potential or that its past gains are invulnerable to foreseeable changes in national policies and global markets.  To the contrary, the State continues to face innumerable transportation challenges.

It is within this context that the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) and West Virginia Planning and Development Council Regions II, III, and IV, in conjunction with the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), have engaged the Appalachian Transportation Institute (ATI) and the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at Marshall University to produce a comprehensive transportation planning study, examining a 13 county region in western West Virginia. This study is organized into two distinct phases.  Phase I, which is documented within the current report was intended to gather information describing current transportation practices within the study region.  Accordingly, investigators have worked to carefully identify and document commodity and passenger flows.  At the same time, the Phase I analysis has also sought to catalogue and inventory the transportation infrastructures that support the observed flows, with the ultimate aim of assessing transportation network capacity and operating costs. 

Phase II of this investigative process combine the data gathered during the study’s initial phase with additional public input and advanced spatial modeling techniques to identify the transportation elements that may unnecessarily raise the cost of transportation to and from the study region.

1.1 THE STUDY REGION

The study region  is comprised of 13 western West Virginia counties, including:  Boone, Cabell, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Mason, Putnam, Roane, Wayne, and Wood.  Summary statistics describing both the economies and populations of these counties are provided in Table 1.1

The study region counties are remarkably diverse.  Cabell, Kanawha, Putnam, and Wood counties are relatively urban.  Together, these four counties contain 63 percent of the study region’s population.  Moreover, there is a similar variety in economic characteristics.  Per-capita income varies by as much as a factor of two.  Finally, the form of commerce that provides incomes and employment also varies considerably within the 13 county region.

While the study region includes roughly 25 percent of the State’s 55 counties, this region captures a significantly greater portion of the State’s population and economic activity.  Table 1.2 summarizes a number of county-specific economic and demographic measures relative to the West Virginia State total.  The study region includes roughly 37 percent of the State’s population, 40 percent of its personal income, 39 percent of State-wide business establishments, and 31 percent of new housing starts.  Perhaps as importantly, three study region counties – Cabell, Kanawha, and Wood contain nearly 25 percent of the states inhabitants and account for nearly 25 percent of State-wide personal income.

While the overall region is measurably stronger than in past decades, the data describing the study region nonetheless tell the story of an area that has been repeatedly challenged by the cyclical nature of the extractive and heavy manufacturing industries that comprise its historical economic base.   As recently as the middle 1980’s, the region was rocked by a significant economic downturn.  Populations, incomes, and overall economic activity declined measurably during that period.  From roughly 1990 forward, the region began its recovery from the difficulties of the 1980’s, but this recovery has been relatively slow compared to the nationally strong economic performance observed over the past decade.

1.2 GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Both the collection and interpretation of data during Phase I and the more comprehensive analysis planned within Phase II have been influenced by three guiding principles.  First among these is the recognition that efficient transportation outcomes are the result of spatially-inclusive, competitive economic relationships.  The only way to understand and evaluate currently observed transportation practices is to understand the economic circumstances that give rise to these practices.  Likewise, the only way to achieve policy changes that will yield efficient transportation in the future is to match these policies to the economic circumstances that are most likely to reveal themselves in coming decades.  Moreover, the effectiveness and efficiency of the entire process is dependent upon the presence of effective competition in both transportation markets and the markets in which study-region commodities are bought and sold.  Thus, policy-makers must include transportation decisions within the broader context of those policies that will encourage effective competition at all levels of production.

Finally, because transportation services are provided across space rather than within the confines of a closed facility, they are far more likely to yield what economists refer to as external costs – costs borne by people who are not a part of the transaction that produces them.  Specifically in the case of transportation, people who live and work in the midst of ongoing transportation are subjected to additional environmental costs that would not be present in the absence of the transportation services.  Further, both the scale and scope of transport-related external costs can be materially affected by public policies.  Formally accounting for the magnitude of all transportation-related external costs is beyond the scope of the current analysis.  Nonetheless, where such costs are now or may become a significant issue, they will be appropriately noted here in the hopes that policy-makers will further explore them within the course of future policy formulation.

1.3 SHIPPER AND CARRIER CONFIDENTIALITY

The Phase I study used a variety of data sources including federal data and interviews with shippers and carriers within the study region that are confidential.  Many elements within these data depict firm-specific business practices.  In some cases, the public release of these confidential data is statutorily prohibited.  In other instances, data were obtained directly from shippers and carriers based on promises of confidentiality.  In every case, however, data are presented at a level of aggregation sufficient to ensure the privacy of the buyers and sellers of transportation services within the study region.

1.4 CAUTIONS AND CAVEATS

As described in Section 1.1, the current study is an ambitious attempt to provide policy-makers with the information necessary to engage in effective transportation planning.  Certainly, the data describing commodity flows and the transportation systems that accommodate these flows developed within the first study phase will be useful toward this end.  There are, however, a number of important cautions and caveats that readers should bear in mind as they proceed through the remainder of the Phase I report.

First, while specific transportation practices and general commercial circumstances are continually changing, the data employed within the ongoing analysis are anchored in one specific time period – generally 1997 or 1998.  Thus, the study may reference conditions, practices, and outcomes that are not entirely current.  More importantly, all data should be interpreted with a forward-looking eye for change.  The purpose of the study is to facilitate transportation planning for the future.  Hence, the status quo should be viewed within the context of an evolving West Virginia economy.

Second, no data source or analytical technique is fully capable of entirely capturing the complex interrelationships that produce transportation outcomes.  Generally, the information and methods employed within the current study are most reliable at significant levels of aggregation.  Consequently, the total regional data are likely to be more dependable than county-specific or industry-specific values.  This is not to say that the disaggregated results reported here are not valid.  Readers should, however, employ a greater measure of caution when making inferences based on these disaggregated values.

Finally, while the analysis that accompanies the Phase I findings necessarily includes explanations that may hint at potential transportation problems and/or opportunities, the reader is encouraged to use these explanations as the starting point for further study rather than the basis of for policy conclusions. 

While the first study phase was designed to identify commodity flows and catalogue infrastructures, the second study phase is designed to identify those factors that may advantage or disadvantage regional transportation users and providers, as well as suggest potential methods for mitigating existing disadvantages and building on observed advantages to improve overall efficiencies.

At the heart of the Phase II work is an extensive analysis of the rate structures currently in evidence.  This analysis helps to identify the disadvantages alluded to above and, in many instances, it also provides clues regarding the means through which improved rates might be attained.  However, the rate analysis is only one of a complement of tools used within the Phase II study.  Additionally, considerable information was gleaned from the shipper surveys described in the Phase I report, from transportation provider interviews, from the experiences of other states within the overall mid-Atlantic region, and from the guidance offered by the regional, State, and federal planners who both oversaw and contributed to the current analysis.

2. COMMODITY FLOWS

The diversity of the commodities flowing to and from the study region counties reflects the significant variation in populations and economic activities across these counties.  For those southern counties where coal dominates the economic environment, and where populations are relatively small, the movement of coal is the dominant flow.  The general pattern with regard to non-coal commodity movements involves the transport of raw materials into the region – generally by rail and barge – and the outbound movement of manufactured goods and refined or processed intermediate products by truck.

2.1 MOTOR CARRIER TRAFFIC FLOWS

Truck movements to, from, and within the study region can be divided into a number of different categories – traffic originating or terminating at manufacturing facilities, deliveries to retail establishments, pass-through traffic that neither originates nor terminates in the region, and movements that combine motor carriage with railroad or barge transportation. Pass-through traffic volumes are generally a function of the broader regional and national economies and should exhibit stable long-run growth.

Overall Truck Traffic 
Motor carrier flows were developed through a combination of shipper survey data and the 1997 State-wide Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) compiled by Oak Ridge National Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Table 2.1 summarizes aggregate motor carrier activity within each of the study region counties.  Commodity-specific flows are not reported at the county level in order to assure shipper confidentiality. One of the more striking results depicted in Table 2.1 is the considerable imbalance between inbound and outbound traffic in Cabell County.  In this county, originating shipments outnumber terminating shipments by nearly three-to-one.  This imbalance reflects the fact that many input commodities are transported by rail or barge, while outputs are moving by truck.  This result is important because it implies that a large number of trucks and trailers must enter the region empty – an outcome that can lead to higher than average trucking costs.
 
Trucking and Intermodal Movements  
Motor carriage is used in combination with other transport modes to provide service to shippers.  However, because intermodal routings are currently used by a relatively small number of shippers, the survey data describing these routings cannot be reliably extended to approximate the behavior of the entire shipping population within the study region.

The next best source of information is the Commodity Flow Survey described earlier.  The base CFS data are reported at the State level.  There are, of course, reliable techniques for distributing State-level data across individual counties, but these methods are only appropriate when the number of shippers is relatively large and, again, this is not the case for truck-inclusive intermodal movements.  Thus, there is little choice but to examine the undistributed State-level data and interpret them based on the shipper comments obtained through the survey process.

While the vast majority of this coal was loaded directly to rail, the CFS indicates, that approximately seven percent of originating coal was trucked an average of 37 miles.  In all but a very few cases, these truck movements were used to access barge transportation for line-haul movements that averaged roughly 500 miles.  Assuming legal loading weights, this equates to nearly 600,000 truck movements during that year, with the majority of these taking place within the study region.  Information provided by the West Virginia Motor Truck Association suggests, however, that the lower coal production observed in 1999 has sharply reduced the number of truck/barge coal movements.

Neither the CFS nor the shipper survey conducted as a part of the current study identified any truck/air intermodal movements.  Information does suggest, however, that a small number of such movements do take place.  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data indicate that, for West Virginia as a whole, there were 1,916 tons of enplaned air-freight and mail during 1996. 

Intertemporal Changes
While the economic base within the study region and the demands it places on highway infrastructure is evolving reasonably slowly, there are, perhaps, more rapid changes in two important determinants of overall regional truck traffic – the volume of pass-through traffic and the population distribution that dictates local retail-related truck traffic.

Based on 1993 data, this indicates that 87 percent of all regional truck traffic neither originates nor terminates within the study region.  As significant as that value may seem, there have been national and regional economic changes that suggest a more current figure would capture even greater volumes of pass-through traffic.  Unfortunately, the current study’s principal investigator was unable to glean a figure for comparison from the 1997 Commodity Flow Survey.  There is, nonetheless, information that can be brought to bear on the issue of intertermporal change. 

As noted in Section 2.1.1, study region truck flows are also influenced by the need to provide local populations with retail goods and services.  Hence, any significant changes in these populations are likely to measurably alter commodity flows.  Table 2.6 provides county population estimates for 1980, 1990, and 1999.  While population declines were evident in 12 of 13 counties, these declines were greatest in the coal field counties within the southern-most portion of the study region. 

2.2.1 Overall Rail Traffic

Transported volumes are reported by county and by commodity groupings which are limited to coal, chemicals, and other commodities in order to preserve the confidentiality shipper and carrier-specific information.

Outbound coal movements dominate originating rail traffic, with the 73 million 1998 tons representing 97.7 percent of the study region total. The dominance of coal as an originating commodity reflects both the importance of this mineral in terms of aggregate economic activity within the region and the fact that manufactured or processed commodities almost always leave the region by truck.

Ironically, coal movements also dominate terminating railroad traffic within the study region, with the nearly 25 million tons of delivered coal representing 89.8 percent of terminating railroad traffic.  The majority of the terminating coal is bound for transport facilities on the Ohio and Big Sandy Rivers where it is transferred to barge.  In addition to coal movements, the rail data also reflect the movement of primary metal, metal scrap, and chemical feedstock's. Estimating Future Coal Traffic Clearly, railroad transportation practices in West Virginia are almost entirely dictated by the demand for the transportation of coal.  At the same time, a number of factors have combined that point to potential reductions in the production of West Virginia coal and the subsequent need for its transport.  Thus, a forward-looking assessment of the transportation challenges and opportunities within the study region requires a reasonable forecast of future coal movements to and from the region.

Pass-Through Traffic 
 As in the case of motor carriage, some of the railroad traffic observed neither originates nor terminates there.  Unlike trucking, however, this pass-through traffic (38%) does not represent the majority of total study region rail tonnage.  There are a number of reasons this is the case.  Some are tied to the route networks of the two rail carriers.  The capacity that is absorbed by the large volume of coal traffic is also a contributor to the relative lack of pass-through traffic.  Finally, the specific physical characteristics of trackage designed to accommodate large volumes of coal are also associated with the modest volume of pass-through traffic.

1.1      WATERBORNE COMMERCE

The study region contains three principal navigable waterways and their tributaries – the Ohio, Big Sandy, and the Kanawha Rivers.  Together, these rivers host several million tons of commercial barge traffic each year.  In many instances commercial navigation complements other surface modes.  In other instances, there appears to be direct competition between barge transport and Class I rail carriers.

Pass-Through Traffic  
As is the case of all modes, the ability of the available infrastructure to accommodate local traffic is affected by the volume of pass-through traffic that also utilizes the local infrastructure.  Based on the total barge traffic moving to, from, (approximately 56.2 million tons) and the tonnages locked through at the Greenup and Willow Island navigation locks, we estimate that pass-through traffic accounted for roughly half of the barge traffic.

1.1 AIR FREIGHT

What is generally referred to as “air freight” is actually divisible into three distinct forms of transportation – air cargo, cargo hold or “belly freight,” and air express.  Air cargo shipments typically involve relatively large shipments of higher-valued, light-weight commodities packed in specially designed aircraft containers.  Belly freight refers to the more sporadic movement of commodities in the cargo holds of passenger aircraft.  Air express involves the shipment of small express parcels through firms such as FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, Airborne, and UPS.

The Tri-State Airport in Wayne County is where shippers may originate or terminate belly freight.  Because of the relatively small size of the aircraft that serves Tri-State Airport, this necessarily constrains shipment sizes in Wayne County.  The region offers a full complement of air express services.  FedEx transfers express to and from aircraft at Tri-State, while other air express providers transfer air express shipments in other parts of West Virginia.  Finally, Tri State airport is not served by air cargo aircraft, so that means that all air cargo shipments are transported elsewhere.

Section 2.1.2 concludes that there are no available data that reliably describe air cargo or air freight shipments to and from the study region, although the shipper surveys certainly provide evidence of such movements.  The same is largely true of express shipments to and from the region except to note that FedEx originates and terminates eight flights per night at Tri-State, representing an aggregate inbound and outbound total lift of several thousand tons per year. 

1.2 PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS PIPELINE SHIPMENTS

Unlike other modes of surface transportation, pipeline movements go largely unobserved by the public as a whole.  Within many regions, however, pipelines represent an important means for both originating and terminating commodity movements.  Within the study region, the principal uses of pipeline transport are the introduction of the State’s natural gas production into the national distribution system and the acquisition of petroleum products for distribution.  A large volume of petroleum products is also moved by pipeline from refining facilities in eastern Kentucky to a transport location near Kenova, West Virginia for subsequent barge transport.

Natural Gas Production and Transportation
Relatively small by comparison to natural gas producing states in the western and southwestern regions of the United States, West Virginia is still the largest natural gas producing state east of the Mississippi River, each year producing roughly 175 trillion cubic feet of gas for distribution across the northeast.

Beyond local utility usage, there are few significant natural gas consumers within the study region.  There are currently plans for the construction of two peak-load electric generating facilities within the region – one in Putnam County and one in Wayne County.  Local producers have suggested that the demand represented by these facilities will be important because the generating facilities will remove natural gas from the pipeline at a time (summer months) when historically high pipeline volumes have made it difficult for local producers to introduce their output into the transmission system.

There is currently no transporting of natural gas to other transport modes within the study region.  The movement of natural gas by truck, rail, or barge requires that the gas be liquefied through a cooling process.  Generally, where volumes are sufficient to support a liquefaction facility, the construction of additional pipeline facilities is a more cost effective alternative.

Petroleum Product Pipelines
Within the study region, there are two instances of petroleum products moving by pipeline.  These include the movement of both feedstock and finished petroleum products into the Charleston area and the movement of petroleum products from Kentucky to Kenova, West Virginia for transport to barge.  In both cases, confidentiality concerns make it impossible to present more specific information regarding quantities or specific products. 

For more information Contact

Saleem A. Salameh
Transportation Director
KYOVA Interstate Planning Commission
214 Fourth Street
Huntington, WV 25712
Phone: 304-529-3357
Fax: 304-529-7229
ssalameh@ntelos.net