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Urban Freight Lab

Research Topic: Border Operations and Cross-border Transportation

Border operations and cross-border transportation involve the management of the activities, infrastructures, and flows that support the passage of passengers and freight across an international border.

Student Thesis and Dissertations

Statistical Analysis of Commercial Vehicle Border Crossing Times and Volumes: Case Study of the Pacific Highway Port-of-Entry Free and Secure Trade Lane

 
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URL: https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=CP71109700480001451&context=L&vid=UW&search_scope=all&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US
Publication Date: 2009
Summary:

International land ports of entry are unique transportation bottlenecks in the North American transportation system and present interesting statistical analysis problems. At the Pacific Highway port-of-entry, located between Surrey, British Columbia and Blaine, Washington, commercial vehicles have experienced crossing times of two hours or more. To address this, the crossing has a dedicated lane for users that comply with certain security procedures under the Free And Secure Trade program. Crossers using this program experience significantly shorter wait times. These issues present the need to understand border operations, crossing times, and arrival volume patterns in greater detail to mitigate congestion and effectively utilize existing infrastructure. This thesis will address temporal patterns of commercial vehicle crossing times and arrival volume patterns by season, month, day of the week, and hour; introduce primary and non-primary crossing time concepts; analyze drivers’ lane choice; and complex statistical sampling techniques. Thus, this thesis will provide insight as to how to better manage border congestion, and introduce statistical techniques that can be used to support future research.

Authors: Li Leung
Recommended Citation:
Leung, L. (2009). Statistical Analysis of Commercial Vehicle Border Crossing Times and Volumes: Case Study of the Pacific Highway Port-of-Entry Case Lane. University of Washington Master's Thesis.
Thesis: Array
Student Thesis and Dissertations

Analysis of Intra- and Inter-Industry Trade Flows of U.S. State – Canadian Province Pairs: Implications for the Cost of Border Delay

Publication Date: 2009
Summary:

Intra-industry trade (IIT) occurs when trading partners import and export similar products. A high volume of IIT of horizontally differentiated goods implies a deep level of regional integration, stable regional trading patterns, and potentially significant consequences from border delay. In this paper, trade between Washington State and British Columbia, Canada (the Cascade gateway), is compared with trade between Michigan State and Ontario, Canada (the Great Lakes gateway). The Grubel–Lloyd index, which measures IIT, is used to analyze trade in these two corridors. Higher levels of IIT and regional integration within the Great Lakes gateway are shown. The paper argues that cross-border supply chains most exposed to higher cost from increasing border delays are composed of horizontally differentiated manufactured goods having high levels of IIT and relying heavily on truck transportation. These types of goods are more common in the Great Lakes gateway, and this region may therefore experience greater economic impacts from long and unpredictable delays than the Cascade gateway.

The value of trade between the United States and Canada is the highest of that between any two countries worldwide, and Canada is the largest foreign trading partner for 37 of the 50 U.S. states (1, 2). The border between the countries is 5,525 mi, making it the longest common border in the world, with 12 U.S. states bordering seven Canadian provinces (3). The commodities traded in different parts of this border are varied, and so is the nature of that trade. Most of this trade—almost 63% of the total value and 35% of the weight— is moved by trucks, which are often subject to long and unpredictable delays at the border crossings (4). This paper uses the Grubel–Lloyd (GL) index, a measure of intra-industry trade (IIT), to describe the nature of the trade along the U.S.–Canada border and its relation to trade corridors. It is argued that increasing delay for roadway vehicles crossing the borders has different impacts on intra-industry versus interindustry trade and that knowledge of these impacts should be considered in evaluating potential policy solutions to addressing border congestion.

Authors: Kristján Kristjánsson
Recommended Citation:
Kristjánsson, Kristján Árni. "Analysis of Intra-and Inter-industry Trade Flows of US State-Canadian Province Pairs: Implications for the Cost of Border Delay." PhD diss., University of Washington, 2009.
Thesis: Array
Student Thesis and Dissertations

Pacific Highway Commercial Vehicle Operations: Border Policy and Logistical Efficiency in a Regional Context (MS Thesis)

URL: https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/kjtuig/CP71178543410001451
Publication Date: 2010
Summary:

Activities of commercial vehicles just prior to or just following international border crossings are not well understood. Logistical responses to border crossings are believed to increase empty miles traveled, travel times and total vehicle emissions. Analysis of observational data and surveys taken by commercial carriers at the Cascade Gateway border crossings (between Whatcom County, Washington State and Lower British Columbia) improves understanding of the manner by and extent to which the border and the associated policies and regulations impact logistics operations near the border. Findings suggest that the border creates logistical incentives for trucks to both deadhead (cross the border without carrying goods as part of a cross-border round trip journey) and make staging stops near the border for border-related transloading. Policies such as cabotage laws and the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program are both believed to increase the negative logistical incentives which the border creates. This thesis examines how these policies negatively impact logistical efficiency and suggests avenues to explore policy reform.

Authors: Matthew Klein
Recommended Citation:
Klein, Matthew (2010). Pacific Highway Commercial Vehicle Operations: Border Policy and Logistical Efficiency in a Regional Context, University of Washington Master's Degree Thesis.
Thesis: Array
Chapter

Pacific Highway Commercial Vehicle Operations: Border Policy and Logistical Efficiency in a Regional Context (TRR)

 
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URL: https://doi.org/10.3141/2238-03
Publication: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Volume: 2238
Pages: 15-23
Publication Date: 2014
Summary:

Activities of commercial vehicles just before or just following international border crossings are not well understood. Logistical responses to border crossings are believed to increase miles traveled empty, total travel times, and total vehicle emissions. Analysis of observational data and surveys taken by commercial carriers at the Cascade Gateway border crossings (between Whatcom County, Washington, in the United States and lower British Columbia in Canada) improves understanding of how the border and associated policies and regulations affect logistics operations, both in manner and in scope. Findings suggest that the border creates logistical incentives for trucks to deadhead (cross the border without carrying goods as part of a cross-border round-trip journey) and to make staging stops near the border for border-related transloading. The Free and Secure Trade program, as observed in the Cascade Gateway region, unintentionally amplifies the existing negative logistical incentives created by the border.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Matt Klein
Recommended Citation:
Klein, Matthew, and Anne Goodchild. "Pacific highway commercial vehicle operations: border policy and logistical efficiency in a regional context." Transportation Research Record 2238, no. 1 (2011): 15-23.
Paper

Service Time Variability at the Blaine, Washington International Border Crossing and the Impact on Regional Supply Chains

 
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URL: https://doi.org/10.3141%2F2066-08
Publication: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Volume: 2066
Pages: 71-78
Publication Date: 2008
Summary:

Variable service times at vehicle processing facilities (borders, weigh stations, landside marine port gates) cause transportation planning challenges for companies that regularly visit them. Companies must either build more time into their schedules than is necessary, and therefore underutilize their equipment, or risk missing delivery windows or exceeding hours of service regulations, actions that can result in fines, lost business opportunities, or other logistical costs. Border crossing times are examined at Blaine, Washington, between Whatcom County, Washington, and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada, to assess the variability in crossing times at this border crossing and the impact of this variability on regional supply chains. Variability data collected for bidirectional trade are presented. Directional, daily, hourly, and seasonal variations are examined, and interviews are conducted with regional carriers to better understand the current response to variability, the benefit of a reduction in variability, and how that is related to the goods moved or to other business operating characteristics. This paper describes the level of variability in border crossing times and carriers’ responses to this variability and shows that the primary strategy used, increasing buffer times, reduces carrier productivity. However, this cost is negligible because of the current nature of the industry.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Steve Globerman, Susan Albrecht
Recommended Citation:
Goodchild, Anne Victoria, Susan Albrecht, and Steven Globerman. "Service time variability at the Blaine, Washington, international border crossing and the impact on regional supply chains." (2007).
Paper

A Description of Commercial Cross Border Trips in the Cascade Gateway and Trade Corridor

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3328/TL.2009.01.03.213-225
Publication: Transportation Letters: The International Journal of Transportation Research
Volume: 1(3)
Pages: 213-225
Publication Date: 2009
Summary:

This paper describes commercial vehicle delay, transportation patterns and the commodity profile at the Western Cascade Gateway, the main border crossing between Southwest British Columbia, Canada, and Northwestern Washington, United States. Using five data sources for comparison—a probe vehicle border crossing time data set, a detailed border operations survey data set, loop detector volume counts, manifest sampling, and data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the transportation, trade, and delay patterns can be synthesized to provide a more complete description of regional freight transportation. This context can be used to consider the impact delay has on regional supply chains, and in developing appropriate freight transportation policy solutions for the border.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Susan Albrecht, Li Leung
Recommended Citation:
Goodchild, Anne & Albrecht, Susan & Leung, Li. (2009). A description of commercial cross border trips in the Cascade Gateway and trade corridor. Transportation Letters: The International Journal of Transportation Research. 1. 213-225. 10.3328/TL.2009.01.03.213-225. 
Paper

Free and Secure Trade Commercial Vehicle Crossing Times at the Pacific Highway Port of Entry

 
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URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)TE.1943-5436.0000159
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume: 136(10)
Pages: 932-935
Publication Date: 2010
Summary:

At the Pacific Highway port of entry between the United States and Canada, typical delays are known to regional carriers and internalized into schedules. Due to their relative infrequency, the largest crossing times are not internalized into schedules and cause significant disruptions to regional supply chains. This technical note describes the recent patterns of very long crossing times (defined as more than 2 h or the largest 1% of crossing times) and explores the relationship between arrival volume and crossing time. To do so, this study uses commercial vehicle crossing time data from GPS technology and volume data from the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation. Results show a weak correlation between border crossing time and arrival volume when considering individual observations, but a stronger correlation when data are aggregated. Results show a high percentage of crossing time can be attributed to sources other than primary booth delay, particularly for the most disruptive, very long crossing times.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Li Leung, Susan Albrecht
Recommended Citation:
Goodchild, Anne, Li Leung, and Susan Albrecht. "Free and secure trade commercial vehicle crossing times at the Pacific Highway port of entry." Journal of Transportation Engineering 136, no. 10 (2010): 932-935. 
Paper

Intra-Industry Trade Analysis of U.S. State – Canadian Province Pairs: Implications for the Cost of Border Delay

URL: https://doi.org/10.3141/2162-09
Publication: Transportation Research Record
Volume: 2162
Pages: 73-80
Publication Date: 2010
Summary:

Intra-industry trade (IIT) occurs when trading partners import and export similar products. A high volume of IIT of horizontally differentiated goods implies a deep level of regional integration, stable regional trading patterns, and potentially significant consequences from border delay. In this paper, trade between Washington State and British Columbia, Canada (the Cascade gateway), is compared with trade between Michigan State and Ontario, Canada (the Great Lakes gateway). The Grubel-Lloyd index, which measures IIT, is used to analyze trade in these two corridors. Higher levels of IIT and regional integration within the Great Lakes gateway are shown. The paper argues that cross-border supply chains most exposed to higher cost from increasing border delays are composed of horizontally differentiated manufactured goods having high levels of IIT and relying heavily on truck transportation. These types of goods are more common in the Great Lakes gateway, and this region may therefore experience greater economic impacts from long and unpredictable delays than the Cascade gateway.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Kristján Kristjánsson, Michael Bomba
Recommended Citation:
Kristjánsson, Kristján Árni, Michael Bomba, and Anne V. Goodchild. "Intra-industry trade analysis of US state–Canadian province pairs: implications for the cost of border delay." Transportation Research Record 2162, no. 1 (2010): 73-80. 

Development and Testing of Innovative Non-Invasive Container Screening Methods in the Supply Chain Defense Lab

This project will develop and test innovative, non-invasive container screening methods in the new Supply Chain Defense Lab (SCDLab). The SCDLab research partnership brings the Urban Freight Lab’s deep logistics expertise, global supply chain companies such as SSA Marine and Expeditors International of Washington, together with the UW Center for Conservation Biology Forensic and Detection Dog Programs to solve global supply chain security problems that are priorities for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

This program is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) which is providing 10 years of research funding to Texas A&M University to lead a consortium of U.S. academic institutions—including UFL and Conservation Biology—in a new national Center of Excellence (COE) for Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS). S&T will provide CBTS with a $3.85 million grant for its first operating year in 2019.

The initial research project will develop and test the effectiveness and efficiency of rapid-throughput canine detection methods and protocols to search containers for biologic contraband at the port.

As a hub of international commerce, Washington State provides an excellent environment to launch this project. The NW Seaport Alliance (Ports of Seattle and Tacoma) manages the nation’s third largest container port operation. In addition to serving as a global maritime gateway for goods entering the U.S, Washington State has high-volume border crossings that connect NW Washington and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, collectively known as the Cascade Gateway. The Gateway is among the busiest and most economically important along the entire northern border. Once in transit, illegal and counterfeit goods, and goods potentially introducing biological threats and vectors for disease, are easily concealed because of the scale of global supply chains. Some of the world’s most endangered species, forests and marine ecosystems are being targeted by transnational criminal organizations, with serious impacts on national and local economies, ecology, global health, and political stability around the world.

In the Media

Technical Report

Understanding Pacific Highway Commercial Vehicle Operations to Support Emissions Reduction Programs

 
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URL: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/18660
Publication: Transportation Northwest (TransNow)
Publication Date: 2011
Summary:
This research, enabled by a data collection effort at the international commercial vehicle crossing at Blaine, WA, addressed three key questions regarding commercial vehicle border operations and near border operations. First, what are the unique features of border operations at Blaine, WA, that are not captured within the standard simulation tools (such as Border Wizard)? Second, what logistical inefficiencies are created by the border that increase empty miles traveled, emissions and total travel time between origin and destination? Third, what has the impact of electronic manifest filing been on primary inspection time? The research objectives were to (1) describe near border operations and identify possible solutions to reduce empty truck miles, (2) improve the understanding of the relationship between primary processing time and border crossing time, and (3) identify the impact of ACE (the commercial trade processing system being developed by Customs and Border Protection to facilitate legitimate trade and strengthen border security) electronic manifest filing on primary processing and primary processing time. The report is organized as follows: Chapter 1 describes near border operations through analysis of survey data, current knowledge of the impact of policy on near border facilities, and suggests changes to improve near border operations. Chapter 2 describes the features of processing at Blaine discovered during the data analysis that contribute processing time and border crossing time. Chapter 3 evaluates the impact of ACE on interview time, and compares interview times, crossing times, and volume in the 2009, 2006, and 2001 studies.

 

 

 

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Matthew Klein
Recommended Citation:
Goodchild, A., & Klein, M. (2011). Understanding Pacific Highway Commercial Vehicle Operations to Support Emissions Reduction Programs (No. TNW2010-11). Transportation Northwest (Organization).