• Pennsylvania has a 2020 population of just over 13 million, ranking fifth among U.S. states. Much of Pennsylvania's population growth has been in the southeastern quadrant of the state. The state's population growth overall has lagged behind many other states in the nation.
• The state retains a consumer-oriented economy in its major metropolitan areas even as many of its traditional industries have faced decline and transition in recent decades. A total of 46 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties have experienced population declines since 2010, with most of the decline seen in outlying rural counties in the northern and western areas of the state.
• Total freight flows into Pennsylvania from other states by all transport modes for 2017 were 217 million tons, with a combined value of $394 billion.
• Total freight flows within Pennsylvania for 2017 were 396 million tons, with a combined value of $282 billion.

• Freight-intensive industries employ more than a million workers in Pennsylvania. These include the following industry groups:
• Manufacturing: 531,000
• Transportation & Warehousing: 287,400
• Wholesale Trade: 151,500
• Mining: 23,500
• Agriculture: 14,600
• Below are the Pennsylvania Counties with the greatest concentration of employment in freight-intensive industries:
• Allegheny: 76,200
• Montgomery: 64,100
• Lancaster: 61,000
• Philadelphia: 55,700
• Bucks: 46,700

• The U.S. National Highway Freight Network (NHFN) was established under the FAST Act in 2015.
• NHFN elements in Pennsylvania include the following, as shown in Figure 2:
• 1,412.64 miles of Primary Highway Freight System (PHFS) roadways
• 474.54 miles of non-PHFS Interstate Highway
• 282.33 miles of Critical Rural Freight Corridors (CRFC)
• 141.18 miles of Critical Urban Freight Corridors (CUFC)
• 48 miles of roadway among 18 PHFS Intermodal Connectors


• The NHFN is the primary network of importance for freight nationally, however it is only one element in Pennsylvania’s highway system that serves the trucking industry. The National Highway System (NHS) is a network of significant highways for all users that was established by Congress under the National Highway Designation Act of 1995. The roadways in this network include the following, as shown in Figure 3:
• The Interstate Highway System
• The Strategic Highway Network (STRAHNET)
• Connectors to the STRAHNET
• Connectors to Intermodal Facilities


• Divisible² loads in trucks with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of more than 80,000 pounds (40 tons) are prohibited on Interstate highways in the U.S. Further, Pennsylvania has enacted statutory truck weight exemptions for certain commodity types. Because of these state and federal regulations, much of the state’s permitted overweight trucking activity takes place on lower-level PennDOT roadways and local roads where community impacts may be more severe.
² “Divisible” refers to cargo that can be divided into smaller loads (such as gravel or cartons of finished goods), vs. a large piece of equipment that cannot be disassembled without compromising its structural integrity and therefore must be transported as one unit.



• Top commodities transported by truck to destinations in Pennsylvania

By Tonnage:

• Gravel
• Non-metallic mineral products
• Waste/scrap
• Other foodstuffs
• Coal

By Value:

• Mixed freight
• Pharmaceuticals
• Other foodstuffs
• Electronics
• Motor vehicles


• Top commodities transported by truck from origins in Pennsylvania

By Tonnage:

• Gravel
• Non-metallic mineral products
• Coal
• Other foodstuffs
• Waste/scrap

By Value:

• Mixed freight
• Pharmaceuticals
• Base metals
• Machinery
• Other foodstuffs


• The top external trading partners among U.S. states for truck freight destined for Pennsylvania are New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Maryland.


• Major bottlenecks on the Interstate and PennDOT highway systems are illustrated in Figure 4. The top 10 highway bottlenecks for trucks in Pennsylvania as documented in 2020 include the following:
• I-95 in Philadelphia
• I-76 in Montgomery County
• I-81 in Cumberland County
• I-676 in Philadelphia
• I-76 in Philadelphia
• I-476 in Delaware County
• I-95 in Delaware County
• I-80 in Clearfield County
• I-81 in Luzerne County
• US 222 in Berks County

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• PennDOT and its partners have been working to measure truck parking issues and related safety concerns for nearly 20 years. The initial statewide assessment of truck parking was documented in Truck Parking In Pennsylvania, the report completed in 2007 for the Pennsylvania State Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC).
• Truck parking is a complex issue that is driven by a range of factors, including Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) hours-of-service rules, rest needs for commercial vehicle operators on the Interstate Highway System, and staging for deliveries based on operating schedules at shippers/receivers and freight terminals.
• Meeting the needs of the trucking industry for rest and staging is an important consideration for supply chains and freight-related economic activity.
• Public rest areas represent an operating cost for State DOTs while providing limited opportunities to recover costs from the users of these facilities, as Federal law restricts commercialization of highway rest areas except for those in existence before 1960 (23 U.S. Code §111).
• Truck parking activity can be classified into four general types:
• long-term (5+ hours) rest
• short-term parking
• staging for deliveries
• emergency operations during travel disruptions and road closures
• Land use is controlled at the municipal level with ramifications for industrial development sites (which generate some truck parking activity) and new or expanded truck stops (which provide parking capacity to meet existing and future demand).
• PennDOT recently completed an update of the data from the 2007 TAC study. The data collected in 2019 and 2020 included documentation of peak overnight truck parking activity at public and private facilities across Pennsylvania, along with overnight parking in non-designated areas such as highway shoulders and interchange ramps. The data collection effort covered all of the limited-access highway corridors in the state. A database of facilities was compiled that includes all locations covered in the 2007 study, and was expanded to include additional parking facilities opened since 2007 and those included in the data submitted by PennDOT to the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of the Jason’s Law surveys conducted by USDOT in 2015 and 2018-19.
• The truck parking facility utilization by facility type and size is illustrated in Figure 5. The data used to develop this facility includes more than 280 parking facilities across the state. These facilities had a combined capacity of more than 11,600 truck parking spaces. During the peak overnight data collection periods in 2019 and 2020 they accommodated about 12,150 trucks parked, for an overall peak utilization of 105%.
• The trucks observed parked in undesignated areas on highway shoulders and interchange ramps were aggregated by roadway segment and measured in terms of a rate of parked trucks per linear mile of roadway. This parking activity is shown in Figure 6. Statewide, a total of 980 trucks were observed parked along these ramps and shoulders during a typical peak overnight period.
• General observations about truck parking in Pennsylvania include the following:
  
  
  • Peak truck parking demand exceeded the designated capacity at nearly half of the parking facilities in Pennsylvania, including most of the largest truck stops and Pennsylvania Turnpike service plazas.
  • The areas of Pennsylvania where the heaviest truck parking activity takes place include the I-78 corridor, the I-81 corridor from the Maryland state line all the way up to the Scranton area, most segments of I-80 from I-99 east to New Jersey, and the entire length of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
  • The heaviest concentrations of truck parking in undesignated areas on highway shoulders and interchange ramps was observed along sections of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the western part of the state, segments of the I-81 corridor in the Harrisburg area and in Schuylkill County, most of I-78 between the I-81 interchange and the New Jersey state line, and a section of I-80 in central Pennsylvania between I-99 and US-220.
  • These figures indicate a shortfall of truck parking spaces that is most acute in areas where long-haul trucks operate on the Interstate Highway System in areas where “last mile” staging for trucks occurs near warehouses/distribution centers and other industrial sites.
  • The Pennsylvania Turnpike has some characteristics that make it challenging to meet truck parking demand in many areas. These include the controlled-access toll operation of the roadway, combined with the long distances between some interchanges in the western part of the state that limit opportunities for trucks to exit the highway to park at private truck stops.

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• Trucks are the predominant mode of freight transportation in Pennsylvania and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Planning and programming for sufficient roadway capacity is one of the biggest challenges facing PennDOT, with trucks being one of many contributors to highway congestion while also serving as a critical transport mode for the Commonwealth.
• Recurring highway congestion on major roadways is driving some truck traffic onto secondary and local roads that are not well suited to handle them. This has some operational implications in areas where roadway geometry, weight limits, and overhead clearance constraints severely limit the mobility of large trucks.
• The growth of e-commerce has resulted in changes in truck operations that will likely accelerate over time, with more frequent trips in smaller trucks and vans, and more “last-mile” deliveries to homes and business establishments that will place a growing burden on local streets.
• Automation of warehousing/logistics facilities drives an acceleration of freight movement in the supply chain. This results in an increase of truck traffic generated by warehousing and distribution facilities even without changes to the physical size of the building.
• The lack of sufficient truck parking availability across much of the nation is a major operational issue for the trucking industry as well as a safety issue for the trucking industry and the traveling public in general. Truck parking and the associated challenges of federal hours-of-service rules and staging needs at shippers and receivers are issues nationwide.

• Pennsylvania’s freight railroad activity ranks among the leaders across the U.S. by several measures, including the number of railroad companies operating in the state, track mileage, tonnage, car loadings, employment, and total compensation for railroad employees and retirees.
• While freight rail is primarily a private-sector transport mode, the public benefits are considerable and have long been the basis for state investment. Chief among these benefits is the reduction of highway and bridge travel demand with mode shift to rail.
• The Pennsylvania freight rail network provides the state’s industries access to customers and suppliers across North America. The busiest corridors are those east-west links that historically connected Pennsylvania to origins/destinations in the Midwest and Great Plains. The previous two decades have seen strong growth on north-south routes in the eastern U.S. that have emerged since the acquisition of Conrail by Norfolk Southern and CSX in the late 1990s.
• The Pennsylvania freight rail system comprises three general categories established by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA):
• Three Class I railroads, comprising 47 percent of the route-miles in Pennsylvania
• Three regional (Class II) railroads, with 14 percent of the route-miles
• 57 short-line (Class III) railroads, including local (29 percent of the route-miles) and terminal/switching railroads (10 percent of the route-miles)
• The Pennsylvania railroad networks for each of the three major FRA categories are shown in Figures 7, 8, and 9.
• One of the unique elements of the Pennsylvania freight rail network is the Conrail Shared Assets system. After the acquisition of Conrail by Norfolk Southern and CSX in the late 1990s, a remnant of Conrail remained as a switching and terminal railroad in several regions of the Northeast. The railroad is jointly owned by CSX and NS, and in Pennsylvania it operates on more than 65 miles of right-of-way in the Philadelphia area.
• Intermodal terminals and transload facilities are integral elements of the freight railroad network, providing connectivity between the rail system and other freight transport modes, including water ports and trucking. The major intermodal terminals in Pennsylvania are shown in Figure 5. The transload facilities are listed in Appendix 7: PA Rail Transload Facilities.
• Measured in tonnage, the top commodities transported by rail to destinations in Pennsylvania (including internal deliveries within Pennsylvania) include coal, plastics/rubber, crude petroleum, newsprint/paper, and “other foodstuffs.” Measured by value, the top commodities destined for Pennsylvania include plastics/rubber, base metals, articles of base metals, machinery, and coal. A full set of commodity tables is shown in Appendix 8: PA Rail Commodity Tables.
• Measured in tonnage, the top commodities transported by rail from origins in Pennsylvania (including internal deliveries within Pennsylvania) include coal, gravel, plastics/rubber, other agricultural products, and fuel oils. Measured by value, the top commodities originating in Pennsylvania include coal, plastics/rubber, articles of base metals, other agricultural products, and base metals.
• As measured by tonnage, the top external trading partners among U.S. states for rail freight originating in Pennsylvania are Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, and New York. Trade volumes among the U.S. states that are Pennsylvania’s trading partners are documented in Appendix 9: PA Trading Partners by State (Rail).
• The top external trading partners among U.S. states for rail freight destined for Pennsylvania are West Virginia, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York.
• USDOT projects long-term (2018-2045) growth in rail freight in Pennsylvania of 36 percent in tonnage, 23 percent in ton-miles, and 129 percent in value. These figures indicate a long-term pattern of growth in activity on Pennsylvania’s freight rail system. However, with the exception of the increase in the value of commodities moved by rail, the growth pattern reflected by these USDOT projections is indicative of slower growth in rail freight volumes than in trucking activity.
• Separate forecasts were developed as part of the 2020 update of the Pennsylvania State Rail Plan (SRP). These forecasts are based on the same 2017 STB (Surface Transportation Board) Confidential Carload Waybill Sample Data that is used for the USDOT Freight Analysis Framework figures, but with additional economic analyses from IHS Global Insight. These forecasts include Baseline, Low-Growth, and High-Growth scenarios. The SRP forecast of reduced tonnage is largely driven by an anticipated decline in coal traffic. Railroad activity measured by rail car movements shows modest growth in rail traffic by 2045 even under a “Low-Growth” scenario. This is heavily influenced by continued strong growth in intermodal rail traffic.
• The growth of intermodal freight transportation in the railroad industry has been an ongoing trend that has accelerated in recent decades as global trade in containerized shipments has grown dramatically. This has been coupled with consolidation in the North American railroad industry that has extended the reach of the remaining Class I railroads and improved the competitive position of rail transport of shipping containers versus long-haul trucking on many domestic trade corridors.
• On a commodity-by-commodity basis, by 2045 the volumes of coal and crude oil are expected to diminish among the top 10 commodities transported by rail in Pennsylvania. The strongest growth is projected for plastics/rubber and basic chemicals.
• The FRA is responsible for the regulation of railroad safety across the U.S. The combined total of all types of railroad accidents documented by the FRA in Pennsylvania over the last 10 years is shown in Figure 10. These figures indicate a gradual decline in railroad accidents, injuries, and fatalities over that period.
• Some of the major Class I rail lines in Pennsylvania are used jointly by freight and passenger trains. This shared use of right-of-way presents operational capacity and safety concerns for current and future rail service.
• Highway–railroad grade crossing safety has been a major national railroad safety priority over the years. The 2020 SRP indicates that there are more than 3,500 public grade crossings in Pennsylvania and documents a slight increase in grade-crossing accidents in recent years. Pennsylvania has made the elimination of grade crossings (where feasible) a major initiative through the Railway–Highway Grade Crossing (Section 130) Program. The 2019-2022 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) includes more than 80 planned grade-crossing projects at locations with high FRA hazard ratings.
• There have been a number of technology-based improvements in railroad operations and rolling stock that have helped the industry improve its efficiency and safety, and reduce its impact on the environment. Key ongoing developments related to technology in the railroad industry include the following:
• The use of distributed power (or "mid-train locomotives") to operate longer trains, thereby reducing overall crew requirements.
• Positive Train Control (PTC) implementation and GPS-based technology enhancements that are aimed at reducing train incidents related to excessive speed and signal violations.
• Operational improvements built on PTC technology to enable railroads to operate trains more efficiently.
• Implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) by Class I carriers to improve operating efficiency by reducing rail car dwell times in yards and operating trains based on fixed schedules rather than maximizing train length.
• Alternative fuels such as electric and compressed natural gas (CNG) locomotives.
• Upgraded grade-crossing detection, monitoring, and protection systems.
• Advances in technology to potentially automate locomotives in the future.

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• As a result of the growth in rail intermodal traffic discussed previously, connections between transport modes have increasingly become bottlenecks in the transportation process over time. Roadside access to marine terminals and intermodal rail yards is critical to the efficient movement of containerized freight.
• The 2020 SRP identified one Class I freight mainline segment that is projected to face a borderline capacity constraint in the future. The Norfolk Southern Crescent Corridor segment between Philadelphia and Harrisburg currently operates at Level of Service (LOS) E, which corresponds to a volume-to-capacity ratio of 0.81 to 1.00. This is projected to improve to LOS D in the “Baseline” 2045 horizon year documented in the SRP due to the projected decline in freight rail traffic described previously. Under the “High-Growth” scenario, this segment would remain at LOS E.
• On-dock and near-dock rail infrastructure development has been incorporated in major container ports throughout the U.S. The infrastructure is essential for ports that seek to attract discretionary cargo destined for the interior of North America as a crucial element of their business model. Intermodal connections have been identified as a key issue by stakeholders involved in multiple freight transportation modes, including trucking, air cargo, maritime trade (for both ocean ports and inland waterways), and railroads.
• Due to the competitive nature of intermodal freight transportation in the U.S., the intermodal sector of the railroad business is focused more heavily on speed than on the load-bearing capacity of the rail infrastructure. Intermodal trains are generally far lighter than mixed trains or unit trains that handle bulk cargoes such as coal, aggregates, and liquids. The movement of intermodal trains requires railbed and track infrastructure that is suitable for faster trains. The mountainous terrain across much of the state and the legacy rail network originally built to handle other commodities is generally unsuitable for this type of operation. Accommodating and improving intermodal access in areas of Pennsylvania that are suitable for a wide range of land uses presents a challenge in terms of both real estate costs and the impacts of rail terminal operations on surrounding communities.
• Another implication of this growth in intermodal traffic is that it has had adverse impacts on many Class II and Class III railroads. The 53-foot domestic intermodal container has gradually displaced the boxcar as a preferred mode of transport for many industries that have traditionally been among the core customers of these smaller railroads. Consequently, many short-line railroads have been forced to develop a business model focused on commodities that are moved in specialized rail equipment, including liquid bulk loads in tankers, dry bulk loads in hopper cars, lumber on center-beam cars, etc. Flexibility in meeting the changing needs of Pennsylvania’s industries, and the local railroads that serve them, is critical for protecting the long-term viability of the state’s non-highway freight transport modes.
• The 2020 SRP is built around the following vision statement: Pennsylvania’s integrated rail system will provide safe, convenient, reliable, cost-effective connections for people and goods. As a viable alternative to other modes, it will support economic competitiveness, smart growth, environmental sustainability, and resiliency, thereby strengthening Pennsylvania’s communities.

Aligning with the State Rail Plan

The goals and objectives of the FMP will align with the eight key goals of the State Rail Plan.

• Pennsylvania is the only state with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean, inland waterways, and the Great Lakes.
• Maritime transportation is the most cost-competitive long-distance transportation mode, and water ports provide the essential intermodal connection between waterways and the landside systems that handle final delivery of goods.
• Pennsylvania’s three water ports each function uniquely to move domestic and international commerce across deep-water, inland, and Great Lakes waterways. The Port of Philadelphia serves Atlantic Ocean vessels and transfers raw materials in bulk, as well as finished goods in containers. The Port of Pittsburgh serves predominantly river barge traffic carrying dry bulk materials for the metal, chemical, and energy industries. The Port of Erie connects the interior of North America to international waters along the St. Lawrence Seaway. Its top freight includes aggregates used in construction and specialized equipment for a growing wind power generation market.
• Port performance, as defined by the FAST Act, focuses on capacity and throughput of freight measured in tons or containerized units known as twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Port capacity or maximum throughput is defined by physical constraints, including the acreage of terminals, number and length of berths, depth of access channels, and the amount and type of cargo-handling equipment (e.g., container cranes). Port capacity is also influenced by operational factors (e.g., gate hours), and labor availability and cost, which vary according to local labor markets.
• According to USDOT port statistics for 2018, Philadelphia ranks 25th among U.S. ports for overall tonnage and 18th for intermodal containers, while Pittsburgh ranks 13th for dry bulk tonnage.
• Each port is associated with a federally designated Marine Highway. The Marine Highway system serves as an extension of the surface transportation system. Each all-water route is designated to offer relief to landside corridors suffering from traffic congestion, excessive air emissions, or other environmental challenges. The navigable inland waterways require significant capital investment and maintenance. Locks and dams enable vessels to traverse inland waterways. Dredging is necessary to maintain inland and coastal channel widths and depths for commercial navigation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is responsible for maintaining waterway access and its associated infrastructure. The U.S. Marine Highway system is illustrated in Figure 11.
• The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, also known as PhilaPort, was established as an independent agency of the Commonwealth to oversee the strategic planning and development of the port district along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. This port district encompasses approximately 3,500 acres of federal, state, and privately owned properties across Delaware, Philadelphia, and Bucks counties that are served by 56 miles of navigable waterway.
• PhilaPort and its facilities compete with 12 ocean ports along the Northeast Corridor. Notably, PhilaPort is the number-one fruit gateway in the U.S., and one of the leading entry points in North America for meat and dairy products. It has nearby access to I-95 and I-76/PA Turnpike and is served by four railroads, making it directly accessible to more major cities by rail and truck than any other port in the United States. Waterside, it is served by Marine Highway M-95, which parallels the east coast of the United States from Maine to Florida.
• The shipping channel of the Delaware River has been deepened to 45 feet. The channel depth, bridge heights, and passage width represent the limiting constraints for vessel size at the Port of Philadelphia.
• One factor in the growth of container traffic handled at the Port of Philadelphia has been the Pennsylvania Intermodal Cargo Growth Incentive Program (PICGIP). Originally established in 2015, it provided shippers a financial incentive to transport containerized cargo through Pennsylvania ports. The program was originally scheduled to terminate in June 2020 but was extended through June 2022.
• The top commodities handled at the Port of Philadelphia are illustrated in Figure 12.
• The Port of Pittsburgh is a river-traffic district spanning approximately 200 miles of navigable waterways in 12 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. The Port of Pittsburgh Commission promotes use and landside development of the waterway, as well as the intermodal transportation system throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. The port district consists of barge industry suppliers and more than 200 intermodal and transloading terminals and processing facilities, including 20 major river terminals with cranes supporting between 50 and 150 tons. Many of the facilities within the port district serve specific industries, including timber, metals, chemicals, and energy.
• There are numerous waterfront industrial sites along the Monongahela, Ohio and Allegheny rivers that represent potential freight-oriented redevelopment opportunities. On the Monongahela River, these sites extend south into West Virginia.
• The Port of Pittsburgh district is served by the CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads, including on-dock rail service at multiple terminals, and four Interstate highways—I-79, I-76/PA Turnpike, I-70, and I-80 —extending and expanding cargo transport options. The Port of Pittsburgh is the eastern terminus of Marine Highway M-70, which extends from Kansas City and connects with both the Mississippi River and the Intracoastal Waterway, providing access to domestic and foreign markets.
• The top commodities handled at the Port of Pittsburgh are illustrated in Figure 13.
• PhilaPort has experienced a period of growth that reflects the overall growth of global maritime trade in recent decades. The Port of Pittsburgh is well-positioned at the easternmost end of the M-70 Marine Highway and provides access to many industrial properties along the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers. However, the Port of Pittsburgh faces challenges including a decline in coal traffic and a system of aging locks and dams along the entire Mississippi–Ohio River System.
• The Port of Erie is located on the southeast shore of Lake Erie in a natural bay sheltered by the Presque Isle peninsula. The port provides industries in northwestern Pennsylvania with intermodal access to Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, and Canadian markets across the Great Lakes region, as well as to international markets via Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway. A port-owned rail spur connects the dock face and shipyard to the CSX mainline about a half-mile from shore. The Bayfront Parkway provides roadway connections to I-79 and I-90.
• The Port of Erie is managed by the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority (EWPPA), which owns, operates, plans, and develops facilities and projects for the port. The commercial shipping and industrial activity at the Port of Erie is only one component of a larger set of assets and land uses at the port, including retail, office, institutional, and recreational properties, as well as protected open space.
• In 2019, Erie handled an annual tonnage of approximately 695,000 tons. Much of the cargo consisted of aggregates (primarily construction and road salt materials), as well as inbound or outbound manufactured machinery such as generators for the Pennsylvania Shell ethylene cracker plant in Beaver County, along with specialized international cargoes (e.g., windmill parts).
• USDOT commodity flow data include domestic freight movement by mode. As measured in tonnage, the top commodities transported by water to Pennsylvania from domestic origins include coal, crude petroleum, gasoline, gravel, and coal (not elsewhere classified). The top commodities transported by water from Pennsylvania to domestic destinations include crude petroleum, coal, fuel oils, gasoline, and gravel. A full set of commodity tables for domestic waterborne transportation is shown in Appendix 10: PA Water Commodity Tables (Domestic Only).

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• Pennsylvania's water ports are major economic generators. Freight planning at the state and regional levels must focus on ways to support the efficiency and effectiveness of our water ports. This includes roadway connections and other investments that help to keep the ports competitive.
• Recent infrastructure investments under PhilaPort’s Port Development Plan (2016), including new warehouses, cranes, and floodplain mitigation, have been made toward a goal of doubling container and automobile processing capacity, and increasing breakbulk volume by more than 20 percent. Yet fixed barriers, such as the Ben Franklin Bridge (limiting air draft to 135 feet), and I-95 and Amtrak rail lines (limiting landside accessibility), impact port accessibility and efficiency.
• At PhilaPort, a portion of fruit and cocoa bean cargo has transitioned from breakbulk to container, shifting the need and location of appropriate terminal and storage facilities.
• Due to its location at the eastern reaches of the Mississippi River system, port district operations at the Port of Pittsburgh area are heavily impacted by lock and dam closures downstream to address maintenance and repairs. The downstream locks and dams outside Pennsylvania represent the bottlenecks in the inland waterway system. Automated locks in Pittsburgh will be tested to increase goods movement while decreasing the cost of operations.
• Container-on-barge is a growing national trend as containers are easily transferred to truck or rail for final delivery. This has implications for the ports in both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as facilities and equipment used for containerized cargo movement are eligible for funding under the U.S. Marine Highway program for marine highways M-95 and M-70, respectively.
• The EWPPA Master Development and Facilities Plan (2018) established goals and objectives for maintaining and expanding facilities at the Port of Erie for industrial use and freight transportation. These include:
• Repair/replacement of failing seawalls
• Maintenance/expansion of wharfs for large vessel shipping and cargo conveyance
• Maintenance/enhancement of rail and road connectivity to commercial vessel docks
• Providing opportunities for smaller, specialized industrial/manufacturing operations
• Waterfront land ownership is a key factor for port activity, while connectivity to inland facilities influences operational efficiency for cargo distribution. Land use and development opportunities at all three Pennsylvania ports are important considerations for expanding their operations and providing for potential expansion opportunities.
• Multimodal transportation access and intermodal connections to port facilities are critical elements of an efficient, environmentally sound freight transportation system. Improvements to first-mile/last-mile truck access to waterfront properties and on-dock rail capabilities should be encouraged, and promoted where feasible. The USDOT and the Maritime Administration outlined a policy framework for improving the maritime transportation system in Goals and Objectives for a Stronger Maritime Nation: A Report to Congress (February 2020). The policy framework establishes that maritime transportation is essential to national security and economic prosperity, and requires workforce, infrastructure, and industry innovations to serve the nation’s interests.
• Technology presents opportunities for port and waterway efficiency and reliability that can reduce risk in the supply chain from source to consumer. From an operations perspective, automated/semi-automated, robotic, and electrified vessels, terminals, as well as landside facilities can improve overall throughput and efficiency. Additionally, information technology can enable automated appointment scheduling at terminals to expedite truck movements/turn-around times, thus updating changes in schedule to reduce downstream impacts. Technology can also monitor infrastructure conditions, with results anticipating and informing capital project needs.

• Pennsylvania is home to more than 650 aviation facilities, including 123 licensed public-use airports, 230 private-use airports, and 282 private-use heliports. Several small airports serving rural areas, including those in Altoona, Bradford, DuBois, Franklin, Johnstown, and Lancaster, are classified as Essential Air Service (EAS) airports, with federally subsidized connections to larger airports.
• Fourteen of these facilities are designated as “commercial service airports” under 49 U.S.C. 47102 (7), which means they have regularly scheduled service and a minimum of 2,500 passenger boardings per year. Most air cargo in Pennsylvania is handled at these commercial service airports. Pennsylvania’s commercial service airports are mapped in Figure 14.
• Air transportation is the fastest mode for moving freight, but is also the most costly. Therefore, it is generally used to transport lower-weight, time-sensitive, and high-value cargoes over long distances.
• Key industries that rely on air transportation for goods movement include technology/biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and overnight parcel delivery
• Air cargo hubs are typically located in major metropolitan areas with access to aviation facilities with sufficient capacity to handle large cargo aircraft, a large population base for customers and employees, and access to nearby industrial properties for cargo-handling capacity. According to the 2019 Interim Aviation Economic Impact Study, Pennsylvania’s commercial and general aviation airports provide an annual economic impact of $28.5 billion to the state (including passenger and freight activity). The state’s 15 commercial airports generate approximately $26.7 billion of this amount, with Philadelphia and Pittsburgh International Airports contributing 62.0 percent and 26.2 percent of the latter figure, respectively.
• One of the trends in air cargo transportation has been a gradual migration of many types of cargo delivery from dedicated air freighters to belly cargo holds in passenger aircraft. Consequently, the air cargo industry in North America has gradually dispersed from a small number of hubs to a wider array of airports that also handle large passenger volumes.
• Data from the USDOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) show that air cargo demand in the U.S. increased by about 40 percent from 2009 to 2019. In 2020, domestic air cargo demand grew while international demand was much lower due to COVID-19. More than 78 percent of the air cargo volume handled in the U.S. is international cargo.
• Boeing’s World Air Cargo Forecast, 2018-2037, projects an average 2.3 percent growth rate in air cargo during the next 10- and 20-year forecast periods based on recent increases in industrial production. The same report calls out a range of market, public policy, and regulatory issues that influence the future of air cargo markets, including modal competition, environmental regulations, globalization, national development programs, inventory management techniques, and new air-eligible commodities.
• Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) could face major operational constraints in the future due to crowded airspace. The introduction of larger passenger aircraft may result in the consolidation of flight schedules and help alleviate some of this pressure. Strengthening the role of reliever general aviation (GA) airports in Southeastern Pennsylvania will help reduce congestion in and around the PHL airspace and minimize delays for non-commercial activity.
• Drone technology represents a major potential opportunity for transformational development in cargo deliveries. Rapid advances in technology have been offset by the complexity of regulatory hurdles for widespread deployment of this technology. The most promising opportunities in this area are likely to be in the delivery of specialized, time-sensitive, lightweight cargoes in areas where operations can be carried out in controlled environments with limited safety and privacy concerns.

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• Intermodal connectivity—particularly highway/truck access—is essential for air cargo. Air cargo facilities rarely handle freight that is moved to or from an origin or destination in the immediate vicinity of an airport; most travels longer distances by a different mode.
• Public- and private-sector stakeholders involved in the FMP outreach process indicated that a lack of uniform data across different types of airports is a potential problem, particularly for small airports that do not have their data reported in national resources. This makes it difficult for airport managers and public officials to identify and respond to changing trends.
• Overnight carriers such as FedEx and UPS are the main form of air cargo activity at small airports, but there may be great potential at these airports for economic development related to specialized cargoes in the technology, pharmaceutical, and biomedical industries.
• The potential application of drone deliveries presents unique challenges in terms of public safety and aviation regulation. There is minimal legislation at the state level dealing with drones. Any state regulations must complement the ongoing updates to federal drone regulations.
• Links between air cargo and economic development are critical. Tying infrastructure improvements and enhanced air cargo amenities to industrial recruitment is a sound approach to collaborative land use and transportation planning.
• Opportunity exists for greater involvement of airports in regional planning with MPOs/RPOs and PennDOT Districts. This tie is generally not as strong as with other modes such as public transportation.

• U.S. military needs on the civilian transportation network are established through the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), a unified combatant command which provides support to other U.S. combatant commands, the military services, defense agencies and other government organizations.
• USTRANSCOM has established two primary national transportation route networks that serve as strategic assets for the U.S. Department of Defense. These include the Strategic Highway Network (STRAHNET) and the Strategic Rail Corridor Network (STRACNET).
• The STRAHNET, originally established in 1956, is a nationwide system of about 62,400 miles of highways, including the Interstate System, plus an additional 1,800 miles of STRAHNET Connectors that link military installations, marine ports, and airports.
• The STRACNET is a network of civil railroad lines and connectors that are designated to meet minimum U.S. Department of Defense requirements for defense readiness. The STRACNET was established in 1993 and has undergone review and revisions at five-year intervals since then.
• The U.S. Department of Defense has identified five military installations in Pennsylvania as key facilities. These include:
  
  
  1. Defense Distribution Depot (DDD) New Cumberland (includes DDD Susquehanna in Mechanicsburg) in Cumberland and York Counties
  2. Tobyhanna Army Depot in Monroe County
  3. Fort Indiantown Gap in Dauphin and Lebanon County
  4. Letterkenny Army Depot in Franklin County
  5. Port of Philadelphia
• In Pennsylvania, the sole non-Interstate STRAHNET route is US 15 from I-81 in Cumberland County to the New York State line. The STRAHNET and Connectors in Pennsylvania are shown in Figure 15.
• Pennsylvania’s STRACNET routes include railroad mainlines and designated connector routes (Figure 16).
• U.S. Military Power Projection Platforms (PPPs) are facilities that serve a strategic purpose in deploying one or more active or high-priority reserve units. Roadways between PPP installations and designated airfields and marine ports of embarkation are designated as PPP Routes. These routes are a subset of the STRAHNET system.
• U.S. Department of Defense mission requirements call for “ensuring PPP Routes are maintained at a capable design, performance, and condition standard to support national emergency deployments.”5
• The PPP routes within Pennsylvania provide access to the Port of Philadelphia from two military installations in the Northeastern U.S.: Fort Drum in upstate New York and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in central New Jersey (Figure 15).

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• The federal requirements and parameters for designating critical urban freight corridors (CUFCs) and critical rural freight corridors (CRFCs) in each state were established shortly after the completion of PA On Track in 2016.
• PennDOT developed a detailed methodology for evaluating roadway segments across the state and prioritizing them for potential certification as CUFCs and CRFCs. This evaluation process included a wide range of criteria, such as freight tonnage, truck volumes, truck vehicle-miles traveled, proximity to major freight generators and intermodal facilities, weight restrictions, truck bottleneck locations, and others.
• PennDOT designated a listing of proposed CUFCs and CRFCs, which FHWA certified in February 2019. The lists of the critical urban and rural freight corridors are included as Appendix 11 and mapped in Figure 2.

• The PennDOT evaluation criteria used to develop the current list of CUFCs and CRFCs was a cohesive approach to identifying freight transportation infrastructure needs in the context of freight-related land use characteristics.
• This evaluation process can be refined and expanded to incorporate a larger freight network in Pennsylvania that goes beyond the critical freight corridors identified in the FAST Act requirements.
• The aggregate lengths of the CUFC and CRFC segments listed in Appendix 11 are established under the FAST Act and its accompanying USDOT guidance, and may be revised over time. PennDOT should be prepared to implement its refined methodology to meet future changes in federal requirements for freight corridors with special designations such as these CUFCs and CRFCs.

• Pennsylvania ranks second to Texas among U.S. states in estimated natural gas reserves and natural gas production. These reserves grew dramatically after 2010 as a result of extensive natural gas development across the Marcellus Shale region.
• A July 2021 study published by the American Petroleum Institute (API) indicates that oil and natural gas extraction in Pennsylvania directly and indirectly supports 9.7 percent of the state’s GDP, and 6.1 percent of the state’s employment.
• Pennsylvania has an extensive network of more than 90,000 miles of gas pipelines organized under the following categories
• 48,700 miles of distribution main lines
• 30,500 miles of distribution service lines
• 10,500 miles of transmission pipelines
• 750 miles of gas gathering lines
• The state is also served by more than 4,100 miles of liquid pipelines for the following commodities:
• 2,400 miles for refined petroleum products
• 1,700 miles for highly volatile, flammable and toxic liquids
• 40 miles for crude oil
• The gas distribution pipeline network in Pennsylvania has grown by approximately 8.5 percent between 2010 and 2020. The gas transmission pipeline network has grown by about 5.4 percent over that same period.
• As measured by tonnage, the top originating states for commodities transported by pipeline to Pennsylvania are West Virginia, New York, Delaware, New Jersey, and Louisiana.
• The top destination states for commodities transported by pipeline from Pennsylvania are New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia.

• Pipelines are generally considered the safest and most cost-effective means of transporting bulk liquid and gas commodities over long distances.
• Natural gas extraction and processing will continue to play a major role in Pennsylvania’s economy, driven by natural gas development from the Marcellus and Utica Shale deposits.
• Secondary industrial development tied to Pennsylvania’s natural gas resources may drive strong economic growth in the state’s old manufacturing centers. The Shell Polymers ethylene cracker plant nearing completion in Beaver County is one example of a modern, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for the secondary processing of raw oil and gas resources.
• Manufacturing sites and transload terminals for materials transported by pipeline should be considered in identifying future surface transportation needs for freight movement.

• E-commerce has steadily grown as a share of all sales (Figure 17). National e-commerce sales have started to show slight decline since early 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began. At the start of 2020, e-commerce sales reached a 16 percent share of quarterly retail sales nationwide (adjusted for seasonal variation). Preliminary data show that this share has declined to nearly 14 percent in the first quarter of 2022.
• Pennsylvania’s e-commerce operations and employment are concentrated in and around the state’s urbanized areas. In addition to the freight and delivery-related trips that e-commerce development generates, the state’s highway infrastructure must be able to accommodate employment trips as facilities grow and expand to meet demand. Employment related to e-commerce is largely centered on the state’s Interstate system, particularly I-78 and I-81 (Figure 18).

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• As the e-commerce sector and supply chains continue to change and evolve, Pennsylvania's cities and communities will need to address the implications to land use and curb management. Some of the state's urban areas have already taken steps to plan for and address downtown deliveries:
• The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC)’s Office of Freight and Aviation Planning developed the Philadelphia Delivery Handbook in 2017. The handbook provides a framework to “foster a delivery-friendly city where deliveries are executed in ways that are equally as conducive and sensitive to business interests as they are to individual communities.”
• As part of its 2016 Regional Freight Plan, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) MPO includes urban freight delivery studies as one of its action strategies under the plan’s “Highway Freight System Operations and Maintenance” objective.
• Additionally, the City of Pittsburgh developed a plan for the neighborhood of Oakland – one of the city’s major cultural centers, which includes freight operations as a goal and curbside management as a policy. One of the resulting products of the plan was a curbside management toolkit.
• PennDOT and its fellow state agencies can coordinate with its regional and local partners to ensure aging infrastructure is able to keep up with the demands of a growing industry, while balancing the needs of local residents and businesses.

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