Detroit-area freight
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefThe Detroit Regional Chamber’s “TranslinkeD” initiative, in partnership with supply chain consulting firm TranSystems, on Tuesday announced it has initiated a 14-week study to identify freight-related economic development opportunities and forecasts in the region (southeast Michigan, northwest Ohio, and southwest Ontario).
The study will address how to leverage the region’s transportation, distribution, and logistics assets to attract business while differentiating the region from competing areas.
“The TranSystems team will identify current and future freight flows and logistics and transportation trends to determine the most plausible logistics-related economic development opportunities for the Detroit region,” said Mike Priest, vice president of TranSystems.
The firm has performed critical work in the development of other regional logistics hubs, including Kansas City’s KC SmartPort. Priest said the goal of the study is to improve the economy through business attraction and retention, and growth of existing industry already in the region.
“This study will provide a data-based, analytic roadmap for the development of the existing supply chain assets in our region,” said Ben Erulkar, senior vice president of economic development, Detroit Regional Chamber. “It will identify specific supply chain opportunities the region should pursue and give businesses a strategic reason to locate in the Detroit region.”
TranSystems will obtain and analyze trade data, forecast freight flow by mode of transport, and develop an accurate freight model of the region.
A 2010 Chamber and Michigan State University study cites a coordinated effort to develop the sector could bring the area 66,000 new jobs and $10 billion in investment over the next decade.
