CUTR Webcast Recording: Determination of Success Factors for Logistics Activity Center (LAC) Investments

November 12, 2015 12:00PM (ET)

Determination of Success Factors for Logistics Activity Center (LAC) Investments

Freight mobility is one of the most important elements in fulfilling the growing high demand for goods, commodities, and services in the United States and in doing so, affects a geographic area’s (state, region, etc.) economy, and overall quality of life. Its importance as a driving force for maintaining and creating jobs and fueling economic development has increasingly been recognized by local, state, and federal transportation programs within the United States.

Despite state, regional, and national level efforts to foster logistics led economic development, there is not much insight on the factors that define the success and failure of these investments. This research is intended to bridge this gap by examining the success and deterrence factors of logistics activity centers (LACs) by means of a case study analysis.

A list of factors, which could influence the potential success of a LAC, was determined based on extensive literature review. These factors were divided into five major categories then applied to sites identified in the literature. In order to validate these success factors, case studies were performed including site visits and interviews of select LACs throughout United States.

The compilation of success factors obtained through literature review and LAC site visits/interviews in the United States were found to closely match. These factors, highlighted in this report, could help the Florida Department of Transportation to better understand what major factors should affect their freight and logistics investments and decision making process. View Handout

Presenter: Seckin Ozkul, Research Associate, Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida

After completing his B.S. in Civil Engineering at Auburn University and working as a consulting engineer in Tampa, FL for over 3 years, Dr. Seckin Ozkul started and completed his Master of Civil Engineering at University of South Florida. Later on he went back to post-graduate school and completed his Ph.D. at the College of Engineering (Transportation) at the University of Florida. His research background includes commercial vehicle operations, freight management, freight logistics, economic impacts of freight transportation, traffic engineering and operations and statistical analyses. The results of previous research projects that he was in charge of are currently being used by the State of Florida to determine the Arterial Roadway Level-of-Service (LOS) throughout the state along with the updated commercial vehicle passenger car equivalency (PCE) factor equations he has introduced using an advanced vehicle dynamics modeling approach in traffic microsimulation. He is a fellow of the International Road Federation (IRF).