1. Connected Places: Freight, Regions and Megaregions Catherine L
Connected Places: Freight, Regions and Megaregions Catherine L. Ross, Harry West Professor Deputy Director, National Center for Transportation Productivity and Management Georgia Institute of Technology October 24, 2014

2. Emerging Megaregions
Connected Places

3. Megaregions Why Megaregions Matter
NON-MEGAREGION
Area
29.6%
70.4%
Population
(2008)
76.54%
23.46%
Employment
76.98%
23.02%
GRP (2008)
81.47%
18.53%
Fortune 500 companies revenue (2008)
92.07%
7.93%
Patents (2008)
86.77%
13.23%
Megaregions-scale analysis captures relevant economic and demographic phenomena
10 megaregions account for 30% of national territory and 75% of the nation’s population and employment.

4. Megaregions Definition
Metro regions are urban centers and their metropolitan sphere of influence which comprise the core of the megaregion.
Metro Regions: measuring centrality
Functional regions are groups of metro regions linked through economic interaction and geographic proximity.
Functional Regions: measuring interactions
Megaregions: considering physical relationships
A megaregion is a functional region with an additional layer of shared social, cultural, and environmental characteristics.

5. National Gateways
for Freight Movement
Data Source: FAF3

6. National Gateways by Mode and Megaregions

7. Economic Competitiveness

8. Rapid Freight Growth over Next Three Decades
Emerging Trends
Rapidly Increasing Truck Volume
Rapid Freight Growth over Next Three Decades

9. Emerging Trends Distribution Center Sprawl
Distribution centers are de-concentrating at the city level and at the megaregion level.
Fragmented governance results in widely divergent local policies towards distribution centers.
Simultaneously, distribution centers are increasingly adding value to supply chain process (Rodrigue, 2006)
Source: Dablanc and Ross,

10. Emerging Trends Rail Network Facts on U.S. railroads
139,000 miles of track
$68.9 billion of revenue annually
Railroads offer capacity to accommodate future freight increases.
88% of railroads under capacity (2007)
By 2035, 45% projected to be under capacity.
Investment required to accommodate projected freight increases.
Source: Federal Railroad Administration
Sources: Ross et al., AAR, 2013.

11. Coordination with the Private Sector
Incorporate private sector input to determine how megaregion planning could reduce costs.
Strategic improvements in infrastructure are critical for efficient freight movement.
Reliability and consistency are vital.
There are both micro and macro level supply chains
Different commodities travel differently.
What are the critical corridors that drive the economy? All corridors are not created equal.

12. Catherine L. Ross, Ph.D. Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development Georgia Tech