Freight Transportation and Logistics | 2017-2018
Freight Logistics Dashboard
The client faced significant challenges in optimizing their freight transportation operations across multiple modes (truck and rail). Key issues included:
Lack of visibility into regional shipping patterns and distribution
Difficulty comparing efficiency metrics between transportation modes
Inability to quantify environmental impacts of shipping decisions
Challenges in assessing safety risks and associated costs
Need for data-driven decision support for route and mode selection
Client
Country
Pakistan
Section
Freight Logistics Dashboards
Approach & Methodology
- Data Integration and Visualization Consolidated shipping data across regions and transportation modes. Developed interactive dashboards for multi-dimensional analysis. Implemented geographic mapping for spatial distribution insights
- Comparative Modal Analysis Established consistent metrics for truck vs. rail comparison. Calculated ton-miles, tonnage, and value metrics for each mode. Developed weight-by-mode visualization for modal share analysis
- Environmental Impact Assessment Measured emissions rates for five key pollutants (CO2, NOx, PM2.5, VOC, SO2). Monetized environmental externalities for each transportation mode. Created comparative visualizations of emissions costs
- Safety and Risk Analysis Calculated fatality and injury rates per billion ton-miles. Quantified accident costs by severity and transportation mode. Developed risk comparison tools for route planning
Data Visualizations & Analysis
Key Findings:
- Highest order volumes in California, Texas, and New York
- Regional clusters in Northeast, West Coast, and Texas/Gulf regions
- Significant variation in shipping density across region
Key Data:
- Nebraska to Arkansas route: 152.3K tons, 116.8M ton-miles, $21.69M value
- Modal split: 54.3% truck, 45.3% rail, minimal intermodal
- Truck: 82.6K tons, 63.2M ton-miles, 746.9 miles avg. distance
Key Metrics:
- CO2 emissions: 22.3g/ton-mile (rail) vs. 96.1g/ton-mile (truck)
- Annual emissions costs: $296,167 (rail) vs. $565,526 (truck)
- All pollutants show significantly higher emissions for truck transport
Key Data:
- Fatality rate: 0.39 events/billion ton-miles (rail) vs. 2.54 (truck)
- Injury rate: 3.32 events/billion ton-miles (rail) vs. 55.98 (truck)
- Annual accident costs: $231,967 (rail) vs. $2,194,752 (truck)
Results & Impact
74%
Emissions Reduction
2.3x
Efficiency Gain
$1.2M
Cost Savings
Implementation & Challenges
- Dashboard Implementation Integrated diverse data sources into a unified visualization platform, deployed interactive filtering for user-driven analysis, and enabled origin-destination selection for route-specific insights.
- Data Integration Challenges Standardizing metrics across transportation modes ensures uniform data interpretation, while consistent emission measurement methodologies enhance accuracy. Calibrating safety metrics accounts for reporting variations, ensuring reliable assessments.
- Adoption Strategy Effective adoption requires training stakeholders on dashboard use, integrating it with logistics planning, and aligning KPIs with sustainability goals for seamless implementation.
Reccomendations
- Strategic Modal Shift
- Increase rail utilization for long-haul freight where infrastructure allows
- Optimize truck usage for first/last mile and areas with limited rail access
- Develop intermodal strategies for key corridors
- Environmental Optimization
- Prioritize rail for routes with highest emissions impact potential
- Implement emissions tracking as standard KPI for logistics operations
- Establish carbon reduction targets based on modal optimization
- Safety Enhancement
- Develop risk-adjusted routing algorithms based on safety metrics
- Incorporate accident cost considerations into transportation planning
- Establish safety performance metrics for carrier selection
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Delivered & Finessed
