15^th TRANSPORTATION WORKING GROUP
Santiago de Chile, April 19 - 23,1999

TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/5.1

Third Meeting of Steering Committee on
More Competitive Transportation Industry
(including Infrastructure)

PROJECT PROPOSAL

Intermodal Transportation Conference
(Intermodal Task Force Objective 4, Task 2)

USA

A. NEW PROJECT PROPOSAL

B. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

1 Objectives

The objective of this project is to conduct a series of Conferences on Intermodal Transportation System Management. The first of these is proposed to be held in Seattle Summer of 2000 and is titled "The Role of New Technologies and Intermodal Transportation Management in Facilitating Asia-Pacific Trade" (please refer to the attached proposed conference agenda). This conference meets the goals of the Intermodal Task Force to sponsor conferences and seminars with public and private sector intermodal transportation professionals under Objective 4 Task 2.

Purpose: The Task Force's purpose is to "Contribute to and facilitate the implementation of an efficient, integrated intermodal transportation system in the Asia-Pacific Region." These conferences address the concern corporate and public leaders have about a lack of understanding of the role of new technologies, intermodal facilities and operations in the movement of goods, materials, people, and information among the APEC economies.

To attract wide participation of all APEC economies in the intermodal conference, This event will be planned to be held in conjunction with other related events, such as intersessional meetings of TPT sub-groups and/or public/private sector activities. It will be a two-day event featuring the conference on the first day, followed by technical tours of ports and intermodal facilities and projects in the Pacific Northwest. Related exhibits and events planned by other organizations will be encouraged to coincide with the APEC intermodal conference.

Justification: The APEC region's growth and prosperity in the 21^st century will depend upon its intermodal transportation infrastructure and operations within the system - the region's transportation system's ability to efficiently move goods, materials, and people within the system whether it be from origin to destination; from supplier to customer through the various levels of the supply-chain; or from point to point within the system. Planning for the future needs to focus on the intermodal transportation system within the APEC region and how it relates to logistics and supply-chain management. An improved intermodal transportation system will facilitate increased trade and economic growth in the region.

Leader's Priorities: APEC Leaders and Ministers

• APEC leaders: The project responds to the priorities set by the APEC leaders for sustainable development and economic and technical cooperation at Canada in November 1997 and reaffirmed at Malaysia in November 1998. The project is consistent with the objective of the APEC Framework for Strengthening Economic Cooperation and Development which is to reduce economic disparity among APEC economies, to improve the economic an social well being of people and to achieve sustainable growth.

• APEC Ministers: In November 1997 APEC Ministers reviewed progress achieved within the Framework and recognized that "… an efficient, safe and integrated regional transportation system is critical to support growth."

• APEC Transportation Ministers: At their meeting in June 1997 in Victoria, Canada, APEC Transportation Ministers recognized the value and importance of human resource development. " . . . improving and strengthening transportation education and training through a comprehensive approach is a key to in achieving this objective. They also recognized that the ability to adopt and use new transportation technologies will be essential to the improvement of the transportation system of the Region. They noted, for example, that these technologies can enhance the speed and lower costs of intermodal cargo processing and port clearance.

• Osaka Action Agenda: This project supports the Osaka Action Agenda through the HRD Common Policy Concepts to increase " . . . the supply and number and enhancing the quality of managers, entrepreneurs, scientists and educators/trainers; increasing opportunities for people to gain skills; and preparing organizations and individuals to remain productive in the face of rapid economic and technological change" as well as to ". . . conduct training of executives, managers, engineers, officials and other workers to increase the supply and enhance the quality of these people."

• APEC Transportation Working Group: Transportation Ministers directed the TPT WG to establish an Intermodal Task Force (ITF) to carry on the work began in with the "Congestion Points Study" (to provide guidelines, standards, and provisional options associated with an integrated transportation system).

• Working Group’s Vision Statement: This project is consistent in striving to " . . facilitate improvements in productivity, skills and efficiency of labor and management in. . .transportation."

2 Linkages/duplication

The types of institutions in member economies intended to benefit from the intended project are those public and private sector organizations whose leaders understand the need for education and training in intermodal transportation system management.

• Private Sector: The conference will be of interest to shippers, receivers, and non-intermodal carrier executives as well as leaders of professional associations who want to obtain first hand knowledge about the latest intermodal trends and business developments. It will also be of interest to export mangers; import managers; and international transportation and logistics personnel who plan, negotiate and manage international shipments, and/or manage third-party partnering relationships.

• Public Sector: The conference should be of special interest to federal, state, local, and regional transportation officials, policy-makers and planners, transportation officials; state economic development officials; local development district officials; and nonprofit development organizations; and community leaders who are interested in improving the competitive advantage of their region.

• Direct benefits are that transportation executives and managers from both government and industry will be able to gain information and understanding as well as network with intermodal service providers in an open forum that addresses issues of common concern. This includes key personnel who should be exposed to the global perspective of intermodal freight transportation, logistics and supply-chain management.

• Participation of the business/private sector and non-governmental institutions will be sought to participate in the conference and in related technical programs and exhibits. The Business/private sector will be involved in the planning and delivery of the project. The National Center for APEC in the U.S. has been consulted and wishes to participate. Their statement regarding the ITF is that it gives them ". . . the opportunity to engage in dialogue and participate in . . . seminar development." Executives from both the government and industry will participate as organizers, speakers, panelist and exhibitors.

• Other APEC fora will be consulted and will be asked to participate. These include the Port Experts Group, the Electronic Commerce Group, and other existing fora related to intermodal transportation. It may also include projects under current consideration such as the ITF project proposal for the "Identification of Needed Intermodal Skills" and the HRD Steering Committee's project proposal for "Pilot Electronic Commerce Training in Maritime Transport" as well as.

• This project will add "APEC value" in supplementing other work that has been done both within APEC and elsewhere in the same field. This includes:

• The Congestion Points Study.
• A Conference on Intermodal Transportation Education sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Transportation Research Board (November 1997).
• A Conference on Intermodal Logistics Sponsored by the US. Department of Transportation, The OECD, and The World Bank (December 1998).
• A Workshop on " Freight Identification Technologies" sponsored by US. Department of Transportation and ITS America.
• The annual conferences at the University of Washington in Seattle on Global Trade, Transportation, and Logistics (late May or June each year)

In the series of conferences on intermodal transportation management, the project will provide knowledge and understanding to transportation executive. This includes providing concrete examples of real-world applications; provide a graphic illustration of what intermodal transportation systems look like and how they operate and perform. It will provide a look at important events and trends in intermodal operations and facilities for all modes. It will also will meet the needs of the targeted beneficiaries by introducing new technologies, institutional arrangements, organizational elements, financial resources and other factors needed to make an intermodal system work efficiently.

Dependent on scheduling of participating subgroups and/or other public/private sector organizations, the proposed intermodal conference date will be set accordingly for sometime Summer 2000 in Seattle.

3 Methodology

The proposed project for Intermodal Transportation System Management involves two phases. The first is the pre-event phase and the second it the actual event. This is detailed in the following table:

All APEC member economies are expected to participate in this event.

4. Budget

APEC TILF SPECIAL ACCOUNT :
ITEMIZED BUDGET FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2000

This project

a. is a seminar, symposium or short-term training course
  b. is a survey or analysis and research project
  c. is neither a nor b above but involves the provision of equipment

A written summary of the conference proceedings will be published and will be mailed to each of the attendees. For those unable to attend the conference, the proceedings will also be published on the TPT website; also, private sector support will be solicited to make video clips of the presentations for distribution on the TPT磗 website.

The outcomes of this project will be an improved understanding of those government and industry participants from the APEC economies of the role of intermodal transportation management in facilitating trade and sustainable economic growth.

FACESHEET for projects seeking APEC funding

This is an application for funding under the [    ] Operational Account (please tick one
                                                          [] TILF Special Account box only)

This page was last updated on 12 March, 2008