National Transportation Network Research Articles

The new world order in the safety of cargo transportation

This article analyzes new organizational processes of transport use in cargo movement between the Economic Union countries and China. Nowadays the organization of cargo transportation to the Russian, European and Asian markets is associated with high risks. Growing interstate confrontation of the countries participating in the Euro-Asian market has a devastating effect on the transport organizational mechanism of road, rail and sea cargo transportation. The authors of the study act as analysts of the processes of formation of a new economic order in the security of transport parameters of resource movement in space and time, which determine the efficiency and competitiveness of the production link of regions on the basis of expanding organizational trade relations of economic entities. Today resources, the level of their territorial dispersion and fragmentation, along with the actual location of productive forces and capacities, in many respects are determinants in the development of business and competitiveness of the economies of national states. Particular attention is paid to the development of both external interstate and internal national linear transportation networks, including rail, road and water transport. Combining the potentials of a number of continental countries, as well as the organization of technical and technological interaction between the participating countries with corporate use of resources, gives an undeniable advantage in achieving economic and social efficiency in the development of national states. This requires a comprehensive socio-economic author's assessment of the direct and indirect advantages and losses of the economic conjuncture of the Economic Union countries, Russia and China, as the main participants and organizers of creating conditions for a new economic order. The new economic order in the development of transport communications determines the implementation of a more effective mechanism for using the continental production resources of China, India, Iran and Russia, which are concentrated on the basis of inter-country corporatization of their use and objective advantageous location of national productive forces and consumer markets.

The optimal proportion for blending hydrogen with natural gas to facilitate its utilization and transportation through the national gas transportation network

The optimal proportion for blending hydrogen with natural gas to facilitate its utilization and transportation through the national gas transportation network

Exploring Willingness to Pay across Different Passenger Traits

In recent years, the transportation landscape has seen a notable shift towards shared mobility, driven by its advantages over traditional systems fraught with inefficiencies. This shift has ushered in demand-responsive transport (DRT) systems, enabled by mobile technology. DRT offers a promising solution for the sustainability of public transport, also for rural Slovakia; however, higher individual journey costs and the necessity for online booking create adoption barriers for this new form. This paper conducts a thorough willingness-to-pay analysis in seven rural Slovak settlements, with the goal of understanding variations and comparing the findings with the existing research. Location, household size, age, car and train usage, and previous experiences with bus transport significantly impact the willingness to pay. Consequently, tailored DRT strategies are necessary for different target groups. To maximize the efficiency of this service, integrating DRT into the regional or national public transportation network is recommended. Insights from this study hold significant implications for policymakers tasked with transforming regional transportation, particularly by integrating DRT into fixed-route bus systems.

Forecasting network traffic in the information and telecommunication system of railway transport by means of a neural network

Network traffic is one of the most important actual indicators of the information and telecommunication system (ITS) of railway transport. Recent studies show that network traffic in the ITS of railway transport is self-similar (fractal), for the study of which the Hirst indicator can be used. One of the possible solutions is a method of network traffic forecasting using neural network technology, which will allow you to manage traffic in real time, avoid server overload and improve the quality of services, which confirms the relevance of this topic. The method of forecasting the parameters of network traffic in the ITS of railway transport using neural network technology is proposed: for long-term forecasting (day-ahead) of network traffic volume based on network traffic volumes for the previous three days using the created multilayer neuro-fuzzy network; for short-term prediction (one step forward, which takes five minutes) of network traffic intensity based on network traffic intensities for the previous fifteen minutes using the created multilayer neural network. The corresponding samples are formed on the basis of real values of network traffic parameters in the ITS of railway transport. Studies of optimal parameters of the created multilayer neural network, which can be integrated into specialized analytical servers of the ITS of railway transport, are carried out, which will provide a sufficiently high level of short-term forecasting of network traffic parameters (in particular intensity) in the ITS of railway transport at the stage of deepening the integration of the national transport network into the Trans-European Transport Network.

Contribution of the one health approach to strengthening health security in Uganda: a case study

BackgroundThe One Health approach is key in implementing International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005) and the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). Uganda is signatory to the IHR 2005 and in 2017, the country conducted a Joint External Evaluation (JEE) that guided development of the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) 2019–2023.AimThis study assessed the contribution of the One Health approach to strengthening health security in Uganda.MethodsA process evaluation between 25th September and 5th October 2020, using a mixed–methods case study. Participants were Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from government ministries, departments, agencies and implementing partners. Focus group discussions were conducted for five technical areas (workforce development, real-time surveillance, zoonotic diseases, national laboratory systems and emergency response operations), spanning 18 indicators and 96 activities. Funding and implementation status from the NAPHS launch in August 2019 to October 2020 was assessed with a One Health lens.ResultsFull funding was available for 36.5% of activities while 40.6% were partially funded and 22.9% were not funded at all. Majority (65%) of the activities were still in progress, whereas 8.6% were fully implemented and14.2% were not yet done. In workforce development, several multisectoral trainings were conducted including the frontline public health fellowship program, the One Health fellowship and residency program, advanced field epidemiology training program, in-service veterinary trainings and 21 district One Health teams’ trainings. Real Time Surveillance was achieved through incorporating animal health events reporting in the electronic integrated disease surveillance and response platform. The national and ten regional veterinary laboratories were assessed for capacity to conduct zoonotic disease diagnostics, two of which were integrated into the national specimen referral and transportation network. Multisectoral planning for emergency response and the actual response to prioritized zoonotic disease outbreaks was done jointly.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the contribution of ‘One Health’ implementation in strengthening Uganda’s health security. Investment in the funding gaps will reinforce Uganda’s health security to achieve the IHR 2005. Future studies could examine the impacts and cost-effectiveness of One Health in curbing prioritized zoonotic disease outbreaks.

Spatial Differentiation of Multi-Airport Logistics in Four Urban Agglomerations in China

A Multi-airport Logistics System (MLS) involves the logistics development of multiple airports in an urban agglomeration. Calculating spatial differentiation in MLS and examining its characteristics have theoretical and practical value. Based on MLS, we established an index system and applied the entropy-criteria importance through the intercriteria correlation weighting method to data from 2019 to evaluate the development and spatial differentiation of multi-airport logistics in four Chinese urban agglomerations in three dimensions: logistics resources, service chains, and market demand. The results showed the following: (1) The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area showed logistics resource-type development. (2) Given its considerable market demand and service support, the Yangtze River Delta ranked first in the service-chain aspect. (3) The market-demand performance of the Chengdu–Chongqing Double Cities Economic Circle was poor. (4) Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei showed mediocre performance in all three aspects. Based on the findings, we make suggestions for MLS development in urban agglomerations for the purpose of achieving high-quality development and supporting China’s overall national transportation network.

Employing a hybrid model based on texture-biased convolutional neural networks and edge-biased vision transformers for anomaly detection of signal bonds

The railway system of Japan plays a vital role in the national transportation network. A key issue in public transport safety is anomaly detection in railways. Lately, developing robust algorithms and methods for anomaly detection has become the premier task in this field. Recently introduced approaches based on convolutional neural networks, generative adversarial networks, and vision transformers (ViTs) have remarkably improved the research in anomaly detection. Our work proposes a high-performance module for the anomaly detection of signal bonds. First, we present an overview of the proposed module; then, the object detection model and the proposed hybrid classification model based on texture-biased convolutional neural networks and edge-biased ViTs are introduced. Finally, the proposed anomaly detection module is evaluated for accuracy using the dataset from the East Japan Railway Company and the receiver operating characteristic curve. The results show that our proposed module achieves a better performance on real-life data than the two methods that were combined to generate it, raising hope toward possible usage in other areas as well.

TRANSPORT STRATEGY DURING MILITARY CONFLICT: PATHS TO RECOVERY AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

The transport sector is one of the vital sectors of the Ukrainian economy, encompassing a comprehensive railway network, road infrastructure, seaports, river terminals, airports, an extensive aviation network, an intricate network of public transportation routes, bus stations, and freight customs terminals. This creates the necessary conditions to meet the transportation needs of users and business development. However, the transport sector, in its entirety, only partially meets the basic transportation needs of the population and the economy in terms of volume, not quality. Moreover, the current state of the transportation sector does not fully comply with the requirements for the effective implementation of Ukraine's European integration course, international standards, ensuring the full implementation of Ukraine's international obligations, and the integration of the national transport network into the Trans-European Transport Network, which demands appropriate organizational, personnel, material resources, and a modern legal framework. In European countries, the development horizon for the transport sector mostly extends to 2030. Consequently, the primary programmatic document defining the goals and objectives for the development of Ukraine's transport sector, considering integration with the European transport system, is the National Transport Strategy of Ukraine for the period up to 2030 (hereinafter referred to as the Strategy), approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on May 30, 2018, No. 430-r. The circumstances of martial law necessitate a review of the priority goals and measures of the Strategy. For this purpose, the Ministry of Community Development, Territories, and Infrastructure of Ukraine initiated a review of the Strategy with the development of an updated action plan involving consultants, representatives of the transport sector, and the scientific community. During the development of updated amendments to the Strategy, a balanced approach should be employed that responds to the expected future growth and changes in demand for transportation services, contributing to economic development, improving the quality of life, and efficient resource utilization. The aim of updating the Strategy is to restore the transport infrastructure affected by armed aggression to a qualitatively new level and to build an integrated transport network linked to the global transportation system, including the EU's transportation system. This will ensure the safe functioning and efficient transport complex of Ukraine, capable of meeting the transportation and other service needs in the transport sector, ensuring the defense capability of the state, competitiveness, and resilience of the national economy.

Situation, Challenges and Suggestions for the Integrated Development of Transportation and Energy

Promoting integrated development of transportation and energy is of great significance for achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, deepening the nationwide battle to prevent and control pollution and accelerating the building of China’s strength in transportation. In the future, with the continuous growth of traffic demand, the acceleration and improvement of the comprehensive national transportation network and the continuous expansion of new infrastructure construction in the transport sector, the energy demand of transportation will continue to increase. At present, the institutions and mechanisms for the integrated development of transportation and energy are imperfect, supporting policies are not yet sound, and some key technologies are in urgent need of breakthrough. To further promote the integrated development of transportation and energy, we need to further clarify the strategy and pathway, optimize development policies and mechanisms, explore feasible business models, and strengthen scientific and technological innovation in this field.

Development of the logistics and transport infrastructure of the border regions of Western Ukraine in the context of deepening integration with the European Union

Transport and logistics system of Ukraine is a circulatory system of the economy. In the conditions of war, it plays a vital role in the delivery of humanitarian, social, food, energy, and, above all, military aid to Ukraine. The ability of the national transport network to provide reliable just-in-time shipment of goods in the required quantity to the end consumers and the interoperability level of the national and European transport systems today are the factors influencing the risk formation processes on a global scale. The war in Ukraine has brought about rapid changes in shipping and logistics, as well as in the structure and volume of international and transit cargo flows. In 2019-2021, about 20-25% of cargo transportation by road transport in international traffic was carried out through the territory of russia and belarus; more than two-thirds of goods crossing (in physical terms) the customs border of Ukraine were sold through sea checkpoints. However, in 2022, compared to the previous year, the number of vehicles that crossed the customs border of Ukraine with EU countries has increased by 21%, especially with Romania - by 64%. Automobile transport became the leader in terms of the volume of imports brought into the country, and railway transport took the second place. The rapid growth in the volume of rail and road freight transportation to Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania has significantly increased the burden on the transport and border infrastructure of the border regions of Ukraine. In such conditions, the available capacity of the transport and logistics infrastructure in the Ukraine-EU cross-border space proved to be insufficient. Therefore, the article offers a methodical approach to the analysis of the logistics and transport infrastructure of the border regions of Ukraine, taking into account the peculiarities and prospects of its operation at the international (European), national, and regional levels. The components of the logistics and transport infrastructure are defined, and the integral indices of the logistics and transport infrastructure are calculated. Ways of efficient realization of the capacity and the development of the transport and logistics infrastructure of the border regions of Ukraine are suggested.

An Optimization Method for Critical Node Identification in Aviation Network

Air transport involves a long-distance journey; it is the main method of transnational travel, which is also an important connection channel between countries/regions. The aviation network is one of the core national transportation networks, whose importance is self-evident. To improve the management efficiency of the aviation network, this study studies the topological characteristics of the global aviation network in detail. The findings show that the global aviation network is a scale-free heterogeneous network, and the aviation network is tolerant of random faults. However, if key nodes are deliberately attacked, the network structure can easily be destroyed into fragments. To further explore the importance of nodes, combined with the background of airport mergers or unions, the node shrinkage method is improved by weighing network edges with the number of edges and ranking the importance of each node in the aviation network. This study compares the results of the node importance calculation by the node shrinkage method and improved weighted node shrinkage method, respectively. The results show that the ranking results obtained from the weighted node shrinkage method are better than those obtained from the traditional node shrinkage method. To further verify the validity of the weighted node shrinkage method, this study conducts a sensitivity analysis by calculating the weights of nodes and edges with different values. The results imply that the rank changes of node importance in the top 20 global aviation networks are the same. Therefore, it is important to find the key nodes in the aviation network and take corresponding protective measures to protect the stability of the global aviation network and improve the efficiency of the management of the aviation network.

Urban Network Spatial Connection and Structure in China Based on Railway Passenger Flow Big Data

China’s transportation industry has made great achievements in the past 40 years of reform and opening up. At the same time, it has gradually accumulated a series of problems. These problems have led to closer and more complex social and economic connection within and between regions of different scales. The existing research only carries out the characteristic analysis of urban network spatial connection and pattern from a single perspective such as “flow space” theory, spatial interaction model and accessibility method, and fails to accurately describe the complex socio-economic relations between regions. Based on the big data of railway passenger flow, this study selected weighted average travel time, railway network density, and the economic connection model to express the urban network spatial connection and structure of China in 2016 from the perspectives of time, space, and interaction. In 2016, the accessibility, connectivity, and total urban external economic connection of the railway network showed a trend of declining from the east to the west. The top 50 cities ranked by interurban economic connection were all located in the central and eastern regions and showed “diamond shape” distribution characteristics. The four diamond-shaped pairs were Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Chengyu urban agglomerations. This shape was basically in line with the T-shaped space that has existed for a long time in China’s regional development. The accessibility, connectivity, and total external economic connection of national-level urban agglomerations were greater than those of regional-level urban agglomerations, and far greater than those of local-level urban agglomerations. The results showed that there was a mismatch between the layout of the railway network and the population. It will still be necessary to focus on strengthening the construction of transportation infrastructure in urban agglomerations and densely populated areas in the future. This study enriches the “flow space” theory, more fully describes urban network spatial connection and structure in China by considering the three perspectives of time, space, and interaction, and can provides reasonable suggestions for the development of national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network planning, regional spatial structure optimization, and sustainable development.

Analysis of the Cost-Effective Road Maintenance Program for the Improvement of Road Value in Kabupaten Gresik Using the Forecasting Method

Roads have a very significant role in enhancing various fields as part of the national transport network. Road management includes road construction, improvement, and technical maintenance activities, which are continuously carried out for the physical maintenance of the road. The role of the road service must be fulfilled so as not to compete with the transportation that passes on the road. Based on the phenomena that have been described, we present the analysis of the cost requirements and methods of road handling in addition to the effectiveness of road stability for the next two years. The research was carried out for a case study of the district major road in Gresik Regency, which is represented in this situation by three main roads. The analysis of a data set is based on the variables of historical data. Then, we analyze using time series with moving averages, exponential smoothing, and trend projection. Next, the method for setting a maintaining strategy of overcoming prediction and its relation to the solidity of the roads, using fuzzy tahani. The results analyzed are confirmed by the recommended output for the next two years.

The role of transportation development and internal migration controls in producing spatial inequality

ABSTRACT Does investing in the development of rural communities exacerbate or ameliorate spatial inequalities between urban and rural areas? developments, such as expansion of national transportation networks, could have two plausible effects with respect to inequality: integration with urban areas could prompt outmigration and brain drain, or it could attract additional investment to towns and villages. Drawing on data from three waves of the China Family Panel Studies, this paper explores how the expansion of long-distance bus stations contributed to the development trajectories of rural China. By leveraging an inductive approach using mixture models, I find that expansion of transportation networks result in two contradictory processes: in some villages, expanded long distance bus travel prompts migrants who would otherwise have stayed in their villages to migrate, while in others would-be migrants stay home. Analysis finds that the outward ‘brain drain’ effect is strongest in relatively poor and remote villages. Taken together, these findings suggest that local development differentially impacts rural regions, favoring those who were already ahead and accelerating the decline of villages that had already been struggling. These findings point to the importance of understanding heterogeneity within spatial processes.

Characterisation of transport resilience and measures to enhance resilience in the recovery after the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake

The Ward to Cheviot section of State Highway 1 is a key lifeline transport route that runs through the Kaikōura township. It is a strategically important link in the national state highway network, connecting the North Island via the Wellington-Picton ferry to the city of Christchurch in the South Island. Its strategic importance and vulnerable location between the mountainous Kaikōura range and the Pacific Ocean make it a critical transportation route in the national transport network. The route has been a focus for understanding the resilience of transport networks from as far back as 2000, when this section was used as a pilot study in early research into transport resilience. A further resilience assessment of this section was completed as part of a national state highway resilience study in mid-2016. Subsequently, the Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake struck the northeast of the South Island on 14 November 2016, triggering thousands of large landslides and causing severe disruption to the transport network. The damage and disruption caused by the earthquake was comparable to that assessed in pre-earthquake studies of the resilience of the state highway. Landslides and embankment failures caused the most damage and disruption to the transport infrastructure, with the Main North Line railway closed for over 9 months and State Highway 1 closed for over a year. Post-earthquake landslides and debris flows triggered by storms caused additional damage and disruption during the recovery phase. Post-earthquake assessment of the corridor resilience was carried out to identify measures to enhance resilience as part of the recovery works. These measures included realigning the road and rail away from the steep hillsides, engineered works to reduce the potential for slope failure, and engineered works to reduce the potential for inundation of the corridor. The resilience assessments also enabled tactical and operational measures to be put in place to ensure safety while allowing the recovery operations to proceed in the context of enhanced risk associated with storm events and potential aftershocks.

Analyzing Urban Expansion and Spatial Growth Patterns in Barahathawa Municipality of Central Tarai Region, Nepal

The rapid transformation of rural settlements into municipalities in Nepal has brought significant changes in land use, and urban expansion and growth patterns mostly through the conversion of agricultural land into the built-up area. The issue is studied taking a case of the rapidly growing town, Barahathawa Municipality of Tarai Region of Sarlahi District. After the declaration of the municipality, several new roads have been opened and upgraded; and the municipality is well-connected to the national transportation network. After promulgated the Constitution of Nepal 2015 and functioning the elected local body, the municipality budget has been increased significantly as a result of increasing municipal investment in socio-economic and physical infrastructure development and environmental protection which has attracted people, goods, and services creating the zone of influence on the municipality. One of the changes found in the municipality is the increasing built-up area and expansion of urban growth through the decreasing agricultural land. Urban growth has been observed taking place around the Barahathawa Bazaar and main roadsides. The built-up area in Barahathawa municipality has remarkably increased by 183percent with the decrease of shrub and agricultural land within 10 years. Implications of such spatial and temporal dynamics have been a core issue of urban planning in most of the newly declared municipalities in Nepal.

National transportation networks, market access, and regional economic growth

I estimate interregional transportation’s effect on local economic activity by studying the Interstate Highway System. To estimate transportation’s effects on county employment and wages, I develop a new instrumental variables strategy: isolating market access growth caused by incidental connections to rural counties. I find that through market access highways increased employment, had small and delayed wage effects, and that instruments correct for downward bias. A structural model interprets reduced-form results as agglomeration and congestion forces strengthening after 1980. Counterfactual simulations suggest that Interstates’ effects were highly heterogeneous and that additions to early Interstate plans were less valuable than the system’s core.

Prospects and opportunities for using foreign experience for the development of intellectual transportation systems in Ukraine

The study aims to determine the prospects and possibilities of using foreign experience for the development of intelligent transport systems in Ukraine. The article deals with the history of the emergence of intelligent transport systems in the world. We have investigated the prerequisites and promising directions for developing the global market of intelligent transport systems: traffic management, road safety, and supervision; cargo management; automotive telematics; parking management; automated vehicles. The main players in the field of business in this market have been identified. It is systematized for the adaptation of countries that are developing due to the features of the European ITS architecture, the US ITS architecture, the Japanese national ITS architecture, which are designed to improve the lives of citizens. Variants of using information and navigation systems in the framework of European projects on the example of cities are proposed. In the example of the European Union, the stages of implementation of the ITS architecture are considered, and how this affects the congestion of roads in large cities. The creation of a unified architecture of ITS allows you to control: the level of transport safety in transport and road traffic; energy consumption and environmental impact; networks of logistics systems for passenger service and cargo handling; management of transport, road construction, and repair works, parking places, collection of road tolls, equipment for improving personal services of road users. We have substantiated the necessity of using an integrated approach to improve the digitalization and intellectualization of transport systems, taking into account their advantages and disadvantages, has been substantiated. Conceptual approaches to the digitization of transport are generalized, closely related to logistics IT systems and the network of local roads. The theoretical basis of the level of intellectualization of the Ukrainian transport systems in comparison with foreign ones has been studied, the expediency of the possibility of developing this sphere in Ukraine with the implementation of the project "Transparent infrastructure" has been proved. The organizational and economic principles of the use of intelligent transport systems of the countries of the world for solving a wide range of problems have been determined: transmission of information in real-time for travelers, namely, traffic schedules, information on delays; entrance fee for the passage of vehicles to the area of the city; accident management; an electronic collection of duties. The legislative framework and the National Transport Strategy of Ukraine for the period up to 2030 are considered. The real results of the development of transport systems that are already being implemented in Ukrainian cities are displayed. A network of "smart roads" will be built in Ukraine. To implement this task, high-quality fiber-optic communications are needed, which will pass along the roads, which will allow the introduction of intelligent transport systems. The use of the world's leading experience in the implementation of intelligent transport systems is strategic for Ukraine, determines its competitiveness in the world market, and meets the requirements of integrating the national transport network into the Trans-European transport network.

Prospects for the development of transport network in Transcarpathia within cross-border territories with EU countries

The article is devoted to the study of the transport network development in Transcarpathia along the border with the EU neighboring countries. The historical stages of the Transcarpathian transport network formation are considered. The main criteria for evaluation and conformity of the transport network in Ukraine have been determined in accordance with European standards. A number of legislative, regulatory, strategic and programme documents covering the development of the national transport network and border infrastructure within the study area are analyzed. The main factors proving the foreign economic activity of the Transcarpathian region towards the EU market are considered and highlighted. The capacity of transit through Ukraine and Transcarpathia within the cross-border territories are revealed. The necessity of the transport network construction is considered due to the fact that the number of passengers and cargo flows on the state border is increasing. It is described, for example, the capacity of rail and road transport across the border of Ukraine and the borders of neighbouring countries , in particular: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania. It is statistically concluded that the most congested is the Ukrainian-Hungarian border area. The main obstacles to the effective implementation of transport and transit work in the study area are identified and possible solution is proposed involving reconstruction of old units and construction of new checkpoints on the border area of Transcarpathia and its neighbouring countries. The dimensional picture of the border areas is presented: Ukraine - Poland; Ukraine - Slovakia; Ukraine - Hungary; Ukraine - Romania. Within each part the natural resource potential, transport load, features of tourism development, necessity for development and the existing transport network modernization are characterized. Suggestions for construction the new checkpoints as well as their advantages and disadvantages are analyzed and discussed. The priorities of Ukrainian state policy, Transcarpathia as well as the priorities of neighbouring countries in the development of the national transport network within the cross-border territories have been determined.

A multi-level spatial-temporal model for freight movement: The case of manufactured goods flows on the U.S. highway networks

The spatial production, attraction, and movement of manufactured goods are vital to the economy of a region and country. The U.S. department of transportation also mandates to incorporate continuing and efficient freight movement and infrastructure into statewide and local long range planning. Studies on supply, demand, and transport of manufactured goods by firm, industry, mode, or commodity are vast in the logistics and supply chain literature. However, relatively sparse research is available on aggregated movement or freight on national, state, or local transportation networks. Better understanding and modeling freight movement on highway networks to facilitate local transportation, land use, economic development, and comprehensive planning is at the heart of freight research. Therefore, the major endeavors and novel contributions of this research include a conceptual framework proposed for freight movement research, a multi-level spatial-temporal freight model based upon the social optimum assignment for optimal “from”, “to”, “within”, and “through” freight flows of manufactured goods on the U.S. highway networks, and a set of performance measures designed to reveal states in terms of their competitive advantages in production, attraction, self-sufficiency, or cross-road. The freight flows were first visualized and highlighted by state at the U.S. level, then by county at the state level for Oklahoma, and finally by traffic analysis zone for the Tulsa metropolitan area. The spatial split of freight flows was accomplished through using freight, network, and demographic-economic databases at state, county, and zone scales.