Multimodal Network Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment of U.S.–Canadian Trade in Lake Erie Corridor

Abstract

Canada is the largest trading partner of the United States. Much of the flow of goods between the two countries is focused in the area between Detroit, Michigan, and Buffalo, New York: the Lake Erie corridor. A multimodal network model allows assessment of the vulnerability of these trade flows to disruptions at one or more of the major bridges and tunnels that are the border-crossing points. The model was calibrated against observed freight flows at these major border crossings for 2007 and then used in a series of experiments to assess the impact of various facility disruption scenarios.