Executive Summary
The 2007 – 2008 research into Transportation Infrastructure in Alabama had two main focal points and many meaningful findings. The two main focal points were the creation of the Freight Planning Framework, with particular emphasis on the disaggregation and use of national level freight data at the state and local level, and the refinement and continued development of the Alabama Transportation Infrastructure Model (ATIM) for analysis and communication of transportation infrastructure issues. Additional findings of significant interest were insights into freight planning and modeling of operations at ports of entry. Following are the highlights of the research, including the embodiment of the Freight Planning Framework, the development of freight planning factors and Freight Analysis Zonal disaggregation techniques, and the advancement of the ATIM (including a transition to a Java-based platform) and other discrete event simulations of freight movement and processes.

2008 Transportation Infrastructure in Alabama Final Presentation

Over 90% of cargo currently transported worldwide is shipped as containerized cargo. Supply chains are becoming more global, and containerized cargo is increasing.

The Alabama State Port Authority is currently...

Redstone Arsenal, located in North Alabama, is home to the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, NASA’s George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, and numerous other federal entities clustered around the research and development base. The transformation from a munitions plant to a major center for aviation and missilery is a remarkable Alabama success.

The efficient and effective movement of freight is a critical component in the
transformation and growth of the Alabama economy. The Alabama economy has
experienced dramatic changes in composition and structure over the past five
decades. In recent years, the changes have been most evident in the rapid growth
of the automotive, aerospace, and life science industries and declines in the textile,
apparel, agricultural, and natural resource industries. All of these trends are very
likely to continue. As an example, approximately 240,000 automobiles were
assembled in Alabama in 2003. By 2006, that number is expected to grow to almost
800,000 arising from the expansion of the Mercedes and Honda plants and the
construction of a new Hyundai plant.1 In addition to the rapid growth of the
automotive industry, tomorrow’s economy will likely include...

The efficient and effective movement of freight is a critical component in the transformation and growth of the Alabama economy. The Alabama economy has experienced dramatic changes in composition and structure over the past five decades. In recent years, the changes have been most evident in the rapid growth of the automotive, aerospace, and life science industries and declines in the textile, apparel, agricultural, and natural resource industries. All of these trends are very likely to continue. As an example, approximately 240,000 automobiles were assembled in Alabama in 2003. By 2006, that number is expected to grow to almost 800,000 arising from the expansion of the Mercedes and Honda plants and the construction of a new Hyundai plant. In addition to the rapid growth of the automotive industry, tomorrow’s economy will likely include biomedical, robotics, advanced logistics, and other knowledge-based industries. In a very real sense, over the past twenty years, Alabama has transitioned rapidly into a manufacturing economy from an agricultural and natural resource economy while simultaneously beginning the additional transition to a knowledge-based economy. The continued transition and growth of the Alabama economy cannot occur without adequate and appropriate transportation infrastructure.