In developing a statewide freight model, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) wants to better understand potential responses of major industries to different policy and market scenarios aimed at reducing freight emissions. This study sought to understand the state’s wheat supply system and its transportation characteristics, as well as potential wheat suppliers’ responses to changes in policy and market conditions, particularly the adoption of alternative fuels.
Wheat is among Washington state’s primary commodities, ranking third behind only apples and milk. Over 80 percent of the wheat grown in Washington is destined for export, and the wheat is most frequently transported to export terminals via barge or rail. Independent of the use of rail or barge, truck movements are always a component of the total supply chain because wheat must be transported from the farm to the barge or rail.
The highway segment portion of the trip is short—often less than 20 miles—because moving a heavy, bulk commodity like wheat by truck can be prohibitively expensive over long distances. Nevertheless, the truck segments are very important. Wheat production, like that of many agricultural products, is dispersed, thereby requiring the use of many roadways. Because of the low volumes, many of those roadways are not considered freight corridors. However, they constitute significant collector routes for much of the region’s freight.
The research team conducted interviews with wheat supply chain actors and identified existing data sources that can help broaden the picture of wheat movement. A key finding was that while Eastern Washington has a large number of farms and farmers, few individual actors make major transportation decisions. Instead, many farmers belong to a farmer cooperative that aggregates the production of numerous individual farmer members. Currently, roughly 26 buyers/shippers operate 300+ elevators.
In addition, potential shifts in wheat freight movement are most likely to be induced by market conditions: price, freight availability, rail and barge rates, and customer location and need.
Most wheat movement estimates are commonly made at the county level, but to increase understanding of the network and movement within it, analysts can utilize USDA CropScape data to generate truck trip generation from the farm level. Additionally, most storage facilities (elevators) are licensed by the State of Washington and can therefore be geocoded to create an origin-destination pair from the farm to the elevator. This will aid analysts in estimating truck volumes and thus the importance of particular roadways to wheat movement.
With a better understanding of wheat supply chain movements and their importance, the logistic impacts of policy alternatives such as the implementation of alternative fuel networks may be better modeled for their practicality and potential adoption by the users. However, it will be important in the context of wheat movement to consider the entire supply chain, across modes, before assuming significant shifts in truck utilization. In addition, implementation considerations should account for the necessary fueling infrastructure to reach dispersed rural locations with limited demand.
Authors:
Jeremy Sage
Ken Casavant
Freight Policy Transportation Institute (FPTI)
WSU School of Economic Sciences
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Barbara Ivanov
WSDOT Project Manager: Doug Brodin