Twin Cities Specialty Logistics

I believe one of our richest endowments is imagination. In 1995, I came to the management at Mn/DOT Metro Division with an idea, a very good concept, one that I felt would position the division with the mainstream…namely logistics and the relationship with transportation and commerce. I maintained that if government truly came to understand those whom it was established to serve, it would deliver better products and services and eventually the barriers would break down and a trust-based relationship would evolve. I proved that customers are willing to invest time and energy in working with government; if they are convinced it is a value-added experience.
The genesis of the idea began by visualizing a better future and going after it. As a planner I know the three key characteristics of a solid plan. First, it must involve the future. Second, it must involve action. Third, there is an element of personal or organizational identification or causation.
The future looks tough by any standard, for those of us in transportation. Consider the following: aging infrastructure, congestion and inadequate funding, new transit demands, increased freight transportation demands (highway linkage to air, intermodal, pipeline, rail terminal, water ports) and highway linkage to regional trade centers. Bottlenecks—the fix and the price tag. All this results in very difficult investment decisions involving trade-offs in investment levels, design and scope of projects.
Yet another aspect of this "transportation process" is the broad approval authority by many local and state agencies over transportation projects. The problem statement is simple, "How can we (MN/DOT Metro Division) get a finger on the pulse of this important customer group (shippers, carriers, brokers, industry leaders) and incorporate their needs into our project development process?" The obvious next question for those of us at the state level is, "How can we obtain and retain the support and participation of our transportation partners (local governments, transit agencies, regional agencies, etc.) in the project development process?"
The goal setting process was relatively simple; the process to achieve success is (note the use of the present tense in this sentence, because this is a work in progress) complex. Our vision was (and still is) to identify and resolve impediments to freight movement to and through the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (eight county region). In order to attain such a lofty goal we needed to identify our stakeholders and quantify (data collection) the situation and analyze the findings. As importantly, we needed to share the learning with customers, colleagues and partners.

Impact of Transportation Trends on Commodities

Quality differentiated grains

Biotechnology has already created several types of special quality grains and oil seeds. The specialty grains and oil seeds that improve the quality of animal feed for domestic consumption will likely continue to be delivered to country elevators. Elevators will segregate these special qualities and manufacture them into animal feeds, or ship the raw grains by railroad or truck to processors or feeder markets.
The special quality grains which are consumed in very large volumes for industrial uses will likely follow the traditional pattern of transport to the local elevator for segregation and shipment by rail or truck to the processing plants. Farmers located within 100 miles will increasingly use their large semis to deliver these grains directly to processing plants.

Credits

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