Freight Mobility and Intermodal Connectivity in China

Trade growth between the United States and China has increased U.S. interest in how the Chinese transportation system handles exports. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study to identify how China provides intermodal access to its ports and uses investment strategies to foster freight mobility and intermodal connectivity. The scan team learned that China's national, provincial, and metropolitan transportation policy is closely coordinated with the country's economic policy and social harmony goals. The transportation system is expanding rapidly to meet global intermodal freight demands and promote expansion into underdeveloped regions of the country. Team recommendations for U.S. implementation include reviving a national transportation infrastructure focus to maintain U.S. competitiveness in the global market, conducting a study on how China uses performance measures to manage transportation policy, and synthesizing the results of this and earlier scans on intermodal freight and connectivity around the world.