^vSmartVVay
Transport Partnership
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
2017 SmartWay Logistics Company
Partner Tool:
Technical Documentation
U.S. Version 2.0.16 (2016 Data Year)
www.epa.gov/smartway
SmartWay";
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
-------
"^^SmartWay
Transport Partnership
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
2017 SmartWay Logistics Company
Partner Tool:
Technical Documentation
U.S. Version 2.0.16 (2016 Data Year)
Transportation and Climate Division
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
United States
Environmental Protection
^^^1 Agency
Office ofTransportation and Air Quality
EPA-420-B-17-026
July 2017
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2017 SmartWay Logistics Company
Partner Tool
Technical Documentation
Version 2.0.16 (Data Year 2016)
United States Version
7-7-2017
1.0 Overview
The SmartWay Logistics Tool is intended to help logistics companies estimate and
assess their carbon, PM, and NOx emission performance levels as well as their total
emissions associated with goods movement in the U.S. freight rail, barge, air and
trucking sectors.1
The new SmartWay truck, air and barge carrier emissions performance data that EPA
has included in the Tool, along with publically available Class I rail data, will allow
logistics companies to generate more accurate emissions performance estimates and
mass emissions inventories. The Tool will allow logistics companies to track their
freight-related emissions performance from year to year, and also help optimize their
emissions performance by allowing them to better estimate the emissions impact of
individual carriers.
2.0 Tool Inputs and Calculations
After logistics companies enter their company and contact information, they provide
basic information about each company they operate, including name, SCAC, MCN,
NSC, and US DOT Number. Logistics companies then identify each carrier that they
use for each logistics business unit. Next, users proceed to input activity data for each
carrier specified.
Emission Inventory and Performance Metric Calculations
After inputting the required mileage and/or ton-mile information for each carrier used,
the Tool will calculate the associated total mass emissions (i.e., an emissions inventory)
based on the mileage-related activity data entered, as well as various emission
performance metrics (e.g., composite grams/mile and grams/ton-mile - see below).
1 While this Tool is primarily focused on freight movements in the U.S. rail, air, barge and trucking freight
sectors, SmartWay anticipates providing performance data for ocean-going marine freight in the future as
well.
1
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The Tool offers two options for calculating mass emissions, based on either the annual
mileage or ton-mileage data that logistics companies enter for each carrier. We
encourage logistics companies to select the unit of activity data that is most appropriate
for characterizing each carrier type (e.g., use grams per mile for TL and grams per ton-
mile for LTL, package, and multimodal / rail.)
The emissions inventory for each carrier/mode combination displayed on the
Emissions Summary, Carrier Performance, and SmartWay Category Details
screens is calculated by multiplying the appropriate unit of activity data (i.e., truck, air or
barge miles, railcar-miles, or ton-miles) by the corresponding carrier emissions
performance data. To calculate composite, business unit-wide emissions performance
metrics on the Carrier Performance screen (i.e., overall g/mile and g/ton-mile
performance), the Tool weights the emissions performance of each of the logistics
business unit's carriers by the percentage of the business unit's overall freight activity
that the carrier moves. An example composite performance calculation is provided
below.
Table 1. Example Compositing Calculation
CO2 g/mi
Mi/yr
Weighting Factor
Weighted CO2 g/mi
Carrier 1
1,700
2,000,000
0.667
1,134 (0.667x1,700)
Carrier 2
1,500
1,000,000
0.333
500 (0.333x1,500)
Weighted composite g/mi
1,633(1,134 + 500)
This compositing process proceeds in an identical fashion for ton-miles.
Note that the composite emissions performance values are the numbers that will
be used to place logistics partners into performance bins within the logistics
category.
Ton-Mile Calculation
Correctly calculating Ton-Miles is critically important for the accurate determination of
your carbon foot-print. You can calculate your business unit's ton-miles as follows.
Determine the ton-miles hauled per year attributable to each carrier. A ton-mile is one
ton moving one mile. DO NOT ESTIMATE TON-MILES BY SIMPLY MULTIPLYING
TOTAL MILES BY TOTAL TONS - this calculation effectively assumes your entire
tonnage is transported on EACH AND EVERY truck, railcar, aircraft, or barge, and will
clearly overstate your ton-miles.
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Many companies track their ton-miles and can report them directly without further
calculation. For example, logistics company systems are typically set up to associate a
payload with the mileage traveled on each trip by carrier, and are then summed at the
end of the year. If such information is not available, there are two ways to calculate ton-
miles:
1) Companies can determine their average payload per carrier, multiply the average
payload by the total miles per carrier, and sum the results for all carriers for the
reporting year; or
(total miles per carrier x total tons per carrier)
2) Set Ton-miles per carrier =
total # of trips per carrier
NOTE: Empty miles are not included in the ton-mile calculation, but the fuel used to
move those empty miles are included in the overall g/ton-mile calculations.
To check your estimate, divide ton-miles by miles. The result is your fleet-average
payload. If this number is not reasonable, please check your calculations.
Carrier Emissions Performance Data
The current SmartWay program provides CO2, NOx and PM gram per mile and gram
per ton-mile emission factors for truck, barge, air, and rail freight transport providers.
These data are provided in the SmartWayCarrierData2016.xls file, which should be
downloaded to the user's computer using the appropriate button on the Tool's Home
page. Performance data for truck, barge, air,2 and multimodal partners correspond to
data submittals for the 2016 calendar year, while current Logistics partner performance
may correspond to submittals for 2015, depending on whether the 2016 data year
performance information for logistics companies has been released at the time of tool
download. (Within a given data year, logistics tools are released after the multimodal
tool.) Performance for Rail companies are modal averages, based on publicly available
R-1 data.
Truck Carrier Performance
Truck carrier performance data utilized by the Logistics Tool is based on 2016 Truck
Partner Tool submittals. Performance data includes g/mile and g/ton-mile for each truck
carrier by SmartWay Category, with a top ranking indicating the top 20 percent
performance level for a given pollutant/performance category. Note that g/mile and
g/ton-mile values represent midpoints for the appropriate SmartWay Category, rather
than exact performance levels for a given carrier. Truck SmartWay Categories include:
2 As of 6-27-2016 no air carrier data had been approved by SmartWay.
3
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TL Dry Van
LTLDryVan
Refrigerated
Flatbed
Tanker
Dray
Heavy/Bulk
Package
Auto Carrier
Moving
Specialized
Mixed
Expedited
The following provides an overview of the truck carrier ranking process used to estimate
the carrier-specific performance bins.
Truck Performance Ranking
In the SmartWay Truck Tool, data is collected at the individual company fleet level.
Fleets are characterized by A.) business type: for-hire or private, B.) operational type:
truckload/expedited, less than truckload, dray, package delivery, or expedited, and C.)
equipment type: dry van, refrigerated van, flatbed, tanker, heavy/bulk, chassis
(container), auto carrier, moving, utility, or specialized (e.g., hopper, livestock, other).
The possible categories are shown below.
For-Hire
Dry Van
Reefer
Flatbed
Tanker
Chassis
Heavy/Bulk
Auto Carrier
Moving
Specialized
TL
LTL
PD
Expedited
Dray
Private
Dry Van
Reefer
Flatbed
Tanker
Chassis
Heavy/Bulk
Auto Carrier
Moving
Specialized
TL
LTL
PD
4
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Expedited
Dray
For-hire and private fleets are combined in SmartWay categories. There are relatively
few private fleets compared to for-hire fleets. Because owners of private fleets
generally hire their own fleets exclusively, it was determined that ranking for-hire and
private fleets together would not be detrimental to for-hire fleets, and the simplicity of
one for-hire and private category outweighed the benefits of listing fleets separately.
Ranking for-hire and private separately would have doubled the number of categories.
Fleets can thus be categorized as shown below.
For Hire / Private
Dry Van
Reefer
Flatbed
Tanker
Chassis
Heavy/Bulk
Auto Carrier
Moving
Specialized
TL
LTL
PD
Expedited
Dray
To be categorized in a particular category, a fleet must have at least 75% of its
operations by mileage in a single category, otherwise it is classified as a "Mixed" fleet.
Fleets could be mixed via their operational or equipment type. Fleets are generally
segregated by their operational type, but some mixing does occur via equipment type,
especially with smaller carriers that do not differentiate their fleet. Fleets that do not
have 75% of their operations in a specific category are placed in the Mixed category.
Individual fleets were then placed into categories. The following graphic illustrates the
population of the various categories. The darker the shade of the intersection, the
higher the number of fleets in that category.
Dry
Reefer
Flatbed
Tanker
Chassis
Heavy
Auto
Moving
Specialized
Mixed
Van
/Bulk
Carrier
TL
LTL
PD
Expedited
Dray
Mixed
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SmartWay then looked at combining categories that exhibited similar characteristics for
simplification purposes. One prerequisite was that there needed to be a minimum
number of fleets in each category. SmartWay determined that a category needed a
minimum of 25 fleets to be created. It was also determined that dry van and chassis
(intermodal container) functioned primarily as dry van transport, so these categories
were combined. While most refrigerated carriers were truckload, a few less than
truckload refrigerated fleets exist, so these two categories were combined. A similar
situation was identified with flatbed, and flatbed truckload and less than truckload were
combined. Although no less than truckload tanker fleets were identified, tanker
truckload and less than truckload were combined into one category so that no
intersections would be left undefined. Similar aggregations were made for the
remaining, less common body types including heavy/bulk, auto carrier, moving and
specialized. All dray was collapsed into one category, and package delivery was
restricted to dry van body types. Any fleet that had mixed operation and/or mixed
equipment was placed into a single mixed category. This produces the final bin
categories illustrated below.
For-Hire and
Private
Dry Van/Chassis
Reefer
Flatbed
Tanker
Heavy/
Bulk
Auto
Carrier
Moving
Utility
Specialized
Mixed
TL
LTL
PD
Expedited
Dray
Mixed
It is possible that SmartWay will expand these categories based on in-use experience or
as a result of further data analysis, and/or requests from industry.
Companies within a category have been ranked from lowest emission factor (best) to
highest emission factor (worst) for each of the following metrics: CO2 g/mile, CO2 g/ton-
mile, NOx g/mile, NOx g/ton-mile, PM10 g/mile and PM10 g/ton-mile. Companies within
a category were then separated into five groups (rankings) such that an equal number
of companies were in each. Each ranking category thus represents a range of emission
factors. This range, and associated cutpoints (transition points from one ranking
category to the next) were then modified so that each bin had an equal range, and the
new ranking category cutpoints remained as close to the originals as possible. The new
range cutpoint is displayed as a number with significant digits appropriate to emission
factors in that category. The midpoint of the range is used as the emission factor for all
companies in a ranking category.
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It would be simpler and more straightforward to use company-specific emission factors,
however the trucking industry expressed concern with revealing exact data that could
be used to back-calculate mile per gallon numbers. The above described methodology
prevents a determination of an exact mpg figure, while at the same time attributing an
emission factor much more exact than a modal default number. Given the large number
of trucking companies, and thus opportunity for companies to be very close to each
other in performance (for example 0.001 g/mile of CO2), SmartWay believes it is
acceptable and appropriate to break truck fleets into 5 performance rankings. The table
below illustrates the ranking results for the For Hire/Private Truckload/Expedited Dry
Van/Container category, using 2010 truck partner data.
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Table 2. Example Binning Results for One Ranking Category (2010 Data)
For-H
ire/Private Truckload/Expedited Dry Van/Container CO2 g/mile
Rank
Fleets
Grams Per
Mile Min
Grams Per
Mile Max
Grams Per
Mile Avg
Grams Per Mile
Midpoint
Grams Per
Mile Std Dev
1
159
602
1,600
1,503
1,550
141
2
241
1,601
1,699
1,654
1,650
28
3
204
1,700
1,799
1,746
1,750
28
4
139
1,800
1,899
1,853
1,850
28
5
55
1,900
3,701
2,064
2,801
302
Similar tables were developed for all categories. The midpoint of each ranking category
is the data that a logistics company will download into their SmartWay Logistics Tool to
represent the emission performance of a specific carrier fleet that is in the associated
rank category. Once the categories and ranks have been established, the carrier fleets
of any new companies joining SmartWay will fall into one of the predefined
categories/ranks. SmartWay expects to update the category/ranks structure
approximately every three years.
The Non-SmartWay performance metrics were calculated by taking the standard
performance rank range delta (m in/max) for each ranking category, and using the delta
to calculate a non-SmartWay carrier midpoint for each category. This midpoint was the
midpoint for Rank 5 plus the standard range delta. For example, if the Rank 5 midpoint
was 10.5 and the Ranking Categories standard delta was 1, then the non-SmartWay
midpoint was calculated to be 11.5. Once the non-SmartWay midpoints for each
pollutant were calculated for all SmartWay Categories, the non-SmartWay performance
metric was calculated by using the average value of these mid-points, weighted by the
number of fleets in each category. This approach does not require the shipper to
identify the appropriate SmartWay Category for their Non-SmartWay carrier(s), which
they may not know, while still ensuring that the performance of their non-SmartWay
carriers reflects the distribution of the different categories within the truck population.
Depending upon the type of data available for a given carrier, the user may input ton-
miles or miles, and rely on carrier data to back-calculate the other value. For example,
providing ton-miles and average payload allows the tool to estimate total miles, by
dividing the former by the latter. Alternatively, freight density and cargo volume
utilization information can also be used to estimate average payloads. For this reason,
average payload and volume information are provided for each carrier in the
SmartWayCarrierData2016.xls file.3 For Non-SmartWay truck carriers, the values for
average payload (18.7 tons) and average volume (3,260 cubic feet) were derived from
the average values for all Truck Partners (2011 data), weighted by miles.
3 The Logistics Tool also calculates average payload and average volume for each logistics fleet defined by the user,
weighting carrier payloads and volumes by the miles assigned on the Tool Activity screen. The resulting average
payload and volume figures will be included in subsequent updates to the SmartWay Carrier file for use by Shippers
and Logistics companies.
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Logistics and Multimodal Carrier Performance
Logistic and multimodal carriers have their own performance bins based on the carrier
tool submittals for the most recent available calendar year (2015 for logistics, and 2016
for multimodal). Multimodal carrier categories are also differentiated by mode
combinations, including Surface;4 Surface-Air; Surface-Marine; and Surface-Air-Marine.
Multimodal composite fleets with 10% or more of their ton-miles coming from air or
marine carriers are designated Surface-Air/Marine.5 Non-SmartWay carrier
performance for these SmartWay Categories is estimated in the same way as is done
for non-SmartWay Truck carriers (i.e., averaging the bin midpoints to calculate a fleet
average value).
Air and Barge Carrier Performance
Air and barge carriers have agreed to have their actual emissions results made public,
and, barge performance values used in the Logistics Tool are carrier-specific. The
gram per mile performance values for barge carriers correspond to individual barge
(nautical) miles travelled, rather than miles travelled by a string of barges or the
associated tug(s).
Non-SmartWay barge carrier gram per mile and gram per ton-mile performance is set to
be 25% higher than the worst performing SmartWay barge carrier.
Since no air carrier data submittals have been approved as of this date, performance
levels for non-SmartWay air freight are based on publicly available data. First upper
bound estimates for grams of CO2 per ton-mile were obtained for short and long-haul air
freight (~4,236 g/t-mi and ~1,461 g/t-mi, respectively).6 7 Values for CO2 g/mile were
calculated by multiplying the g/t-mi value by an average cargo payload value of 22.9
short tons. The average payload value was estimated by dividing total air freight
tonnage in 2012 (15M tons)8 by the total number of cargo departures in the same year
(654,956 LTOs).9 Corresponding performance metrics for NOx and PM10 were based
4 Surface multimodal carriers utilize road and rail modes.
5 Air and/or marine carriers may be utilized directly by the multimodal carrier, or may be utilized indirectly by
logistics business units hired by the multimodal carrier.
6 Short haul air freight assumed to be less than 3,000 miles, covering most domestic air routes in the U.S.
7 Estimates from Figure 8.6 in Sims R., R. Schaeffer, F. Creutzig, X. Cruz-Nunez, M. D'Agosto, D. Dimitriu, M. J.
Figueroa Meza, L. Fulton, S. Kobayashi, O. Lah, A. McKinnon, P. Newman, M. Ouyang, J. J. Schauer, D. Sperling,
and G. Tiwari, 2014: Transport. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working
Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R.
Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B.
Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlomer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
8 U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportaion Statistics, Fregiht Facts and Figures 2013. Accessed 20 April 2015
http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/nat_freight_stats/docs/13factsfigures/pdfs/fff2013_highres.pdf
9 U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Air Carrier Traffic Statistics, accessed April, 20, 2015:
http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/acts/customized/table?adfy=2012&adfm=l&adty=2012&adtm=12&aos=6&artd&arti&a
rts=3 &asts&astns&astt=3 &ascc=2&ascp
9
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on the ratio of these pollutants to CO2 from the EDMS 5.1.4.1 model (0.009 for NOx and
0.000059 for PM10).10 The resulting performance metrics are shown in Table 3 below.
An average cargo volume estimate was also obtained for inclusion in the SmartWay
carrier data file based on the volume for a typical freight aircraft, the Boeing 747 200
series (5,123 cubic feet).11
Table 3. Assumed Performance Metrics for Non-SmartWay Air Carriers
C02/tmi
C02/mi
NOx/mi
NOx/tmi
PM/mi
PM/tmi
Short-haul
4,236
96,998
873.2713
38.1341
5.743247
0.250797
Long-haul
1,461
33,448
301.1280
13.1497
1.980430
0.086482
Rail Carrier Performance
All rail carriers are assumed to have the same industry modal average performance
levels in the Logistics Tool, regardless of Partnership status. Rail carrier performance
data are collected and displayed in the Logistics Tool at the industry average level
derived from Class 1 rail company data. Gram per ton-mile factors were determined by
dividing total fuel use by total ton-miles and multiplied by a rail diesel CO2 factor (10,084
g C02/gal diesel fuel), from publicly available data submitted in the 2010 railroad R-1
reports to the Department of Transportation. 2010 R-1 data was also used to obtain
total railcar-miles per year for all Class 1 carriers, in order to estimate gram per railcar-
mile factors. Industry average values are currently assumed for all rail carriers in the
carrier data file. Specific rail companies may have an opportunity to provide company-
specific data in the future. The R-1 data and corresponding CO2 performance data are
presented in Table 4 below.
Table 4. Rail Carrier Performance Metric Calculation Inputs and Results (2010 R-1
Data)
Rail Company
Gal/Yr
('OOO)Sch.
750 Line 4
Freight Ton-
Mi/Yr ('000)
Sch .755 line
110
Railcar-Mi/Yr
('000) Sch.
755 sum of
lines 30, 46,
64 & 82
g CCVrailcar-
mile
g CCVshort
ton-mile
BNSF Railway
1,295,147
646,549,059
11,230,994
1,163
20.20
CSX Transportation
490,050
230,507,431
4,720,293
1,047
21.44
Grand Trunk
88,290
50,586,328
1,206,818
738
17.60
Kansas City Southern
62,354
31,025,588
609,929
1,031
20.76
Norfolk Southern*
440,159
183,104,320
4,081,893
1,087
24.24
Soo Line
65,530
33,473,544
771,033
857
19.74
Union Pacific
1,063,201
525,297,747
10,336,081
1,037
20.41
10 EDMS outputs for take-off mode, assumed to be equal to cruising mode. (Cruise emissions are not output by
EDMS). Take-off mode emission rates were averaged across all aircraft/engine combinations in the Heavy (Max
Takeoff Weight over 255,000 lbs) and Large (Max Takeoff Weight 41,001 to 255,000 lbs) weight classes.
11 http://www.airgroup.com/standalone.php?action=air spec
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Rail Company
Gal/Yr
('OOO)Sch.
750 Line 4
Freight Ton-
Mi/Yr ('000)
Sch .755 line
110
Railcar-Mi/Yr
('000) Sch.
755 sum of
lines 30, 46,
64 & 82
g CCVrailcar-
mile
g CCVshort
ton-mile
Total - Industry
Average
3,504,731
1,700,544,017
32,957,041
1,072
20.78
* and combined subsidiaries
NOx and PM emission factors for rail carriers are based on industry averages. The
freight rail g NOx/ton-mile and g PM2.5/ton-mile factors were developed with 2010
inventory data from Tables 3-82 and 3-83, respectively, in EPA's 2008 Regulatory
Impact Analysis for a locomotive diesel engine rule. This inventory data represents
2010 emission projections for all U.S. rail except for passenger and commuter rail (i.e.,
large line-haul, large switch, and small railroads), which EPA determined would very
closely align with the freight rail sector. This emissions inventory data was divided by
the 2007 R-1 ton-mile data.
EPA developed the industry average freight rail g/mile factors by using 2008 railcar
mileage data from lines 15 through 81 of R-1 forms that Class I railroad companies
submitted to the Surface Transportation Board. The railcar miles were then converted
into "truck-equivalent" railcar miles by estimating the average volume capacity of Class I
railcars and dividing that by an average freight truck volume capacity. This results in a
very crude estimate that does not take into consideration the utilized volume of railcars
or the comparative freight truck, but EPA determined that this was the best available
data and method to estimate modal average truck-equivalent railcar miles.
To estimate the industry average volume capacity of Class I railcars, the railcar miles
reported by each company for each railcar type in their respective 2008 R-1 reports
(lines 15-81) were multiplied by the volume-per-railcar assumptions in Table 7 below to
obtain total Class I TEU-miles. EPA then divided the total railcar TEU-miles by the total
railcar miles to estimate the industry average railcar volume capacity. EPA then divided
this average railcar volume capacity (3.92) by the average freight truck volume capacity
(2.78 TEUs) to develop the conversion factor -1.41 railcar-miles-to-truck-miles.
EPA developed the NOx and PM emission estimates using the average 2010 locomotive
g PMio/gal and g NOx/gal factors from Tables 5 and 6, respectively, in EPA's 2009
Technical Highlights: Emissions Factors for Locomotives. To calculate g PM2.s/gal, we
assumed 95% of PM10 is PM2.5, which we determined was a good approximation of the
share of overall PM10 emissions represented by particulate matter that is 2.5
micrometers in diameter or smaller.
Table 5 presents the industry-average freight rail NOx and PM emissions factors in the
tool and Table 6 presents the key underlying data.
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Table 5. Illustrative U.S. Freight Rail Industry Average Factors
NOx
PM2.5
gram/short ton-mile
0.4270
0.0120
gram/truck-equivalent mile
13.19
0.3569
gram/TEU-mile
4.745
0.1284
Table 6. Underlying Emissions Inventories and Activity Data for Illustrative U.S.
Freight Rail Industry Average Factors
short ton-miles
1,819,633,000,000
Class l-only railcar miles (total)
34,611,843,000
50' and Larger Box Plain + Box Equipped
2,223,402,000
40' Box Plain
22,000
Flat TOFC/COFC, General, and Other
5,057,466,000
Flat Multi Level
1,725,998,000
Gondola Plain and Equipped
7,893,684,000
Refrigerated Mechanical and Non-Mechanical
495,311,000
Open Top Hopper General and Special Service
5,913,012,000
Covered Hopper
7,210,656,000
Tank under 22,000 gallons
1,295,482,000
Tank 22,000 gallons and over
2,394,565,000
All Other Car Types
402,245,000
Average payload per loaded railcar were calculated for all Class 1 carriers by dividing
the value for annual ton-miles hauled by an estimate for loaded railcar-miles, based on
2008 R-1 data. The calculation uses the Total Revenue and Non-Revenue Ton-Miles as
listed In the R-1 Report on line 114 of schedule 755 divided by the Total loaded Railcar-
Miles (the sum of lines 30 and 64 of schedule 755) along with the factor for fuel gallons
consumed for loaded freight that is created based on the percentage of loaded freight to
total freight multiplied by the total diesel fuel value listed on schedule 750 Line 4. The
following table summarizes the estimated average payload per railcar, by carrier.
Table 7. Rail Carrier Average Payload
Carrier
Avg Payload/Loaded Railcar (tons)
BNSF Railway
108
CSX Transportation
85
Grand Trunk
80
Kansas City Southern
91
Norfolk Southern
76
Soo Line
77
Union Pacific
91
Industry Average
93
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Average railcar volumes were calculated for all carriers by first estimating an average
volume for each major railcar type listed in the R-1 forms (schedule 755, lines 15-81).
The assumptions used to estimate these volumes are provided in Table 8 below. The
railcar-miles reported for each railcar type were multiplied by these average volumes to
estimate annual cubic foot-miles travelled by car type for each company and for the
industry average. The distribution of cubic foot-miles across car types was used as the
weighting factor to estimate a single average railcar volume for each company. These
values and the resulting volume estimates are presented in Table 9 below.
Table 8. Railcar Volume Assumptions and Sources
Railcar Type
Cubic
Feet
Source/Method
Key: Norfolk Southern Railroad (NS)12, Union Pacific Railroad (UP)13,
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF)14, CSX Transportation Railroad
(CSX)15, World Trade Press Guide to Railcars (GTRC)16, Chicago Rail Car
Leasing (CRCL)17, Union Tank Car Company (UTCC)18, U.S Department of
Agriculture (USDA)19
Boxcar 50 ft and longer
including equipped
boxcars
7,177
Based on the average of the following boxcar types:
50ft assumed to be 5694 [reflecting the average of 5355 (NS), 5431 (UP), 5238
(CSX), 6175 (BSNF), 6269 (GTRC)].
60ft assumed to be 6,648 [reflecting the average of 6618 (NS), 6389 (UP), 6085
(CSX), 7500 (BNSF)].
50ft hiqh cube assumed to be 6,304 Treflectina the averaqe of 6339 (NS) and
6269 (CSX)].
60 ft hiqh cube assumed to be 6917 Treflectinq the averaqe of 7499 (NS). 6646
(CSX), and 6607 (GTRC)].
86ft assumed to be 9999 (NS).
Autoparts assumed to be 7499 (NS).
Boxcar 40ft
4,555
Based on estimate of 50ft boxcar volume described above. Assumed 40ft
length would result in 20% reduction in volume.
Flat car - all types
except for multi-level
6,395
Based on the average of the following flat car types:
60ft assumed to be 6739 (BNSF).
89ft assumed to be 9372(BNSF).
Coil assumed to be 3387(NS).
Covered coil assumed to be 5294 Treflectinq the averaqe of 8328 (NS) and
2260 (BNSF)].
Centerbeam assumed to be 6546 Treflectinq the averaqe of 5857 (UP) and
7236 (BNSF)].
Bulkhead assumed to be 7030 (BNSF).
Multi-level flat car
13,625
Based on the average of the following multi-level flat car types:
Unilevel (that carrv verv larqe carqo, such as vehicles/tractors) assumed to be
12183 (NS).
Bi-level assumed to be 14381(NS).
12 http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Customers/Equipment_Guide
13 http://www.uprr.com/customers/equip-resources/cartypes/index.shtml
14http://www.bnsf.com/customers/how-can-i-ship/individual-railcar/#%23subtabs-3
15 http://www.csx.eom/index.cfm/customers/equipment/railroad-equipment/#boxcar_specs
16 http://www.worldtraderef.com/WTR_site/Rail_Cars/Guide_to_rail_Cars.asp
17 http://www.crdx.com/railcar.html
18 http://www.utlx.com/bdd_tank.html
19 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USD A), 1992, Weights, Measures, and Conversion Factors for Agricultural
Commodities and Their Products, Agricultural Handbook Number 697, Economic Research Service, Washington,
DC. Available at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ah697/ah697.pdf
13
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Railcar Type
Cubic
Feet
Source/Method
Key: Norfolk Southern Railroad (NS)12, Union Pacific Railroad (UP)13,
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF)14, CSX Transportation Railroad
(CSX)15, World Trade Press Guide to Railcars (GTRC)16, Chicago Rail Car
Leasing (CRCL)17, Union Tank Car Company (UTCC)18, U.S Department of
Agriculture (USDA)19
Tri-level assumed to be 14313 (based on averaae of 15287 (NS) and 13339
(BNSF).
Flat Car - all types-
including multi-level
[not used in analysis,
except for estimating
volume of "All Other
Cars']
7,428
Based on the average volumes of the flatcar types described above including
multi-level as a single flat car type.
Gondola - all types
Including equipped
5,190
Based on the average of the following gondala car types:
52-53ft assumed to be 2626 Tbased on averaae of 2665 (NS). 2743 (CSX).
2400 (BNSF), and 2697(CRLC)].
60-66ft assumed to be 3372 Tbased on averaae of 3281 (NS). 3242 (CSX).
3350 (BNSF), CRCL-3670, and 3366 (GTRC)].
Municipal Waste assumed to be 7999 (NS).
WoodchiD assumed to be 7781 Tbased on averaae of 7862 (NS) and 7700
(CRCL)].
Coal assumed to be 4170 [based on averaae of 3785 (NS) and 4556 (BNSF)l.
Refrigerated -
Mechanical /non-
Mechanical
6,202
Based on the average of the following refrigerated car types:
48-72ft assumed to be 6963 Tbased on averaae of 6043 (UP) and 7883
(BNSF)].
50ft assumed to be 5167(GTRC).
40-90 ft. assumed to be 6476 Tbased on averaae of 6952 (UP) and 6000
(BNSF)l.
Open Top Hopper
4,220
Based on the average of the following open top hopper car types:
42ft assumed to be 3000 (UP).
54ft assumed to be 3700 (UP).
60ft assumed to be 5188 [based on average of 5125 (UP) and 5250 (GTRC)].
45ft+ assumed to be 4105 [based on averaae of 4500 (UP) and 3710 (BNSF).
Woodchip assumed to be 7075 [based on averaae of 7525 (NS). 5999 (UP),
and 7700 (CRCL)].
Small Aaareaate assumed to be 2252 [based on averaae of 2150 (NS). 2106
(BNSF), and 2500 (CRCL)l.
Covered Hopper
4,188
Based on the average of the following covered top hopper car types:
45ft assumed to be 5250 (GTRC).
Aaareaate assumed to be 2575 [based on averaae of 2150 (NS) and 3000
(CRCL)].
Small Cube Gravel assumed to be 2939 [based on averaae of 2655 (NS). 3100
(CSX), and 3063 (BNSF).
Med-Larae Cube Ores and Sand assumed to be 4169 [based on averaae of
3750 (NS) and 4589 (BNSF)].
Jumbo assumed to be 5147 [based on averaae of 4875 (NS). 4462 (CSX).
5175 (BNSF), and 6075 (CRCL)].
Pressure Differential (flour) assumed to be 5050 [based on averaae of 5124
(NS) and 4975 (CRCL)l.
Tank Cars under
22,000 gallons
2,314
Assumes 1 gallon=0.1337 cubic foot (USDA).
Based on small tank car average volume of 17304 gallons, which is the average
of the following currently manufactured tank car volume design capacities of
13470, 13710, 15100, 15960, 16410,17300,,19900, 20000, 20590, and 20610
gallons (GTRC).
Tank Cars over 22,000
gallons
3,857
Assumes 1 gallon=0.1337 (USDA).
Based on large tank car volume of 28851 gallons, which is the average of the
following currently manufactured tank car volume design capacities of 23470,
25790, 27200, 28700, 30000, 33000, and 33800 gallons (GTRC).
All Other Cars
5,014
Based on average volume presented above for each of the nine railcar types
(all flatcars are represented by the line item that includes multi-level flatcars -
14
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Railcar Type
Cubic
Feet
Source/Method
Key: Norfolk Southern Railroad (NS)12, Union Pacific Railroad (UP)13,
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF)14, CSX Transportation Railroad
(CSX)15, World Trade Press Guide to Railcars (GTRC)16, Chicago Rail Car
Leasing (CRCL)17, Union Tank Car Company (UTCC)18, U.S Department of
Agriculture (USDA)19
7428).
15
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Table 9. Rail Carrier Average Volume Determination
BNSF
Freight Car Types (R1 - Schedule 755)
Avg. Cu Ft.
Railcar Miles (xlK)
Cu Ft Miles (xlK)
Box-Plain 40-Foot
4,555
1
4,555
Box-Plain 50-Foot & Longer
7,177
9,338
67,018,826
Box-Equipped
7,177
147,226
1,056,641,002
Gondola-Plain
5,190
379,762
1,970,964,780
Gondola-Equipped
5,190
75,894
393,889,860
Hopper-Covered
4,188
758,442
3,176,355,096
Hopper-Open Top-General Service
4,220
65,077
274,624,940
Hopper-Open Top-Special Service
4,220
137,449
580,034,780
Refrigerator-Mechanical
6,202
19,272
119,524,944
Refrigerator-Non-Mechanical
6,202
32,910
204,107,820
Flat-TOFC/COFC
6,395
520,521
3,328,731,795
Flat-Multi-Level
13,625
38,624
526,252,000
Flat-General Service
6,395
357
2,283,015
Flat-All Other
6,395
71,826
459,327,270
All Other Car Types-Total
5,772
20,146
116,282,712
Average Railcar Cubic Feet
5,811
16
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CSX
Freight Car Types (R1 - Schedule 755)
Railcar Miles (xlK)
Cu Ft Miles (xlK)
Box-Plain 40-Foot
Box-Plain 50-Foot & Longer
6,987
50,145,699
Box-Equipped
144,631
1,038,016,687
Gondola-Plain
137,256
712,358,640
Gondola-Equipped
64,532
334,921,080
Hopper-Covered
153,315
642,083,220
Hopper-Open Top-General Service
78,412
330,898,640
Hopper-Open Top-Special Service
35,451
149,603,220
Refrigerator-Mechanical
17,117
106,159,634
Refrigerator-Non-Mechanical
11,923
73,946,446
Flat-TOFC/COFC
125,828
804,670,060
Flat-Multi-Level
29,956
408,150,500
Flat-General Service
162
1,035,990
Flat-All Other
31,913
204,083,635
All Other Car Types-Total
19,861
114,637,692
Average Railcar Cubic Feet
6,389
17
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Grand Trunk
Freight Car Types (R1 - Schedule 755)
Railcar Miles (xlK)
Cu Ft Miles (xlK)
Box-Plain 40-Foot
0
Box-Plain 50-Foot & Longer
2,119
15,208,063
Box-Equipped
66,110
474,471,470
Gondola-Plain
6,467
33,563,730
Gondola-Equipped
19,201
99,653,190
Hopper-Covered
44,239
185,272,932
Hopper-Open Top-General Service
9,114
38,461,080
Hopper-Open Top-Special Service
32,621
137,660,620
Refrigerator-Mechanical
312
1,935,024
Refrigerator-Non-Mechanical
205
1,271,410
Flat-TOFC/COFC
2,779
17,771,705
Flat-Multi-Level
4,831
65,822,375
Flat-General Service
20
127,900
Flat-All Other
31,744
203,002,880
All Other Car Types-Total
4,755
27,445,860
Average Railcar Cubic Feet
6,309
18
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Kansas City Southern
Freight Car Types (R1 - Schedule 755)
Railcar Miles (xlK)
Cu Ft Miles (xlK)
Box-Plain 40-Foot
0
Box-Plain 50-Foot & Longer
3,383
24,279,791
Box-Equipped
39,792
285,587,184
Gondola-Plain
16,628
86,299,320
Gondola-Equipped
11,150
57,868,500
Hopper-Covered
50,346
210,849,048
Hopper-Open Top-General Service
626
2,641,720
Hopper-Open Top-Special Service
943
3,979,460
Refrigerator-Mechanical
21
130,242
Refrigerator-Non-Mechanical
52
322,504
Flat-TOFC/COFC
10,736
68,656,720
Flat-Multi-Level
629
8,570,125
Flat-General Service
12
76,740
Flat-All Other
2,321
14,842,795
All Other Car Types-Total
247
1,425,684
Average Railcar Cubic Feet
5,938
19
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Norfolk Southern
Freight Car Types (R1 - Schedule 755)
Railcar Miles (xlK)
Cu Ft Miles (xlK)
Box-Plain 40-Foot
0
Box-Plain 50-Foot & Longer
7,622
54,703,094
Box-Equipped
136,745
981,418,865
Gondola-Plain
193,214
1,002,780,660
Gondola-Equipped
111,320
577,750,800
Hopper-Covered
116,848
489,359,424
Hopper-Open Top-General Service
84,557
356,830,540
Hopper-Open Top-Special Service
30,078
126,929,160
Refrigerator-Mechanical
3,512
21,781,424
Refrigerator-Non-Mechanical
5,392
33,441,184
Flat-TOFC/COFC
114,928
734,964,560
Flat-Multi-Level
20,349
277,255,125
Flat-General Service
145
927,275
Flat-All Other
24,563
157,080,385
All Other Car Types-Total
212,408
1,226,018,976
Average Railcar Cubic Feet
6,065
20
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Soo Line
Freight Car Types (R1 - Schedule 755)
Railcar Miles (xlK)
Cu Ft Miles (xlK)
Box-Plain 40-Foot
0
Box-Plain 50-Foot & Longer
725
5,203,325
Box-Equipped
17,972
128,985,044
Gondola-Plain
1,203
6,243,570
Gondola-Equipped
8,856
45,962,640
Hopper-Covered
94,146
394,283,448
Hopper-Open Top-General Service
3,077
12,984,940
Hopper-Open Top-Special Service
20
84,400
Refrigerator-Mechanical
159
986,118
Refrigerator-Non-Mechanical
742
4,601,884
Flat-TOFC/COFC
11,178
71,483,310
Flat-Multi-Level
2,973
40,507,125
Flat-General Service
12
76,740
Flat-All Other
10,068
64,384,860
All Other Car Types-Total
428
2,470,416
Average Railcar Cubic Feet
5,667
21
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Union Pacific
Freight Car Types (R1 - Schedule 755)
Railcar Miles (xlK)
Cu Ft Miles (xlK)
Box-Plain 40-Foot
0
Box-Plain 50-Foot & Longer
12,311
88,356,047
Box-Equipped
238,241
1,709,855,657
Gondola-Plain
206,370
1,071,060,300
Gondola-Equipped
91,775
476,312,250
Hopper-Covered
370,929
1,553,450,652
Hopper-Open Top-General Service
188,027
793,473,940
Hopper-Open Top-Special Service
104,969
442,969,180
Refrigerator-Mechanical
82,874
513,984,548
Refrigerator-Non-Mechanical
27,009
167,509,818
Flat-TOFC/COFC
1,026,251
6,562,875,145
Flat-Multi-Level
46,889
638,862,625
Flat-General Service
350
2,238,250
Flat-All Other
72,371
462,812,545
All Other Car Types-Total
16,769
96,790,668
Average Railcar Cubic Feet
6,248
22
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Total (for Industry Average)
Freight Car Types (R1 - Schedule 755)
Railcar Miles (xlK)
Cu Ft Miles (xlK)
Box-Plain 40-Foot
1
4,555
Box-Plain 50-Foot & Longer
42,485
304,914,845
Box-Equipped
790,717
5,674,975,909
Gondola-Plain
940,900
4,883,271,000
Gondola-Equipped
382,728
1,986,358,320
Hopper-Covered
1,588,265
6,651,653,820
Hopper-Open Top-General Service
428,890
1,809,915,800
Hopper-Open Top-Special Service
341,531
1,441,260,820
Refrigerator-Mechanical
123,267
764,501,934
Refrigerator-Non-Mechanical
78,233
485,201,066
Flat-TOFC/COFC
1,812,221
11,589,153,295
Flat-Multi-Level
144,251
1,965,419,875
Flat-General Service
1,058
6,765,910
Flat-All Other
244,806
1,565,534,370
All Other Car Types-Total
274,614
1,585,072,008
Average Railcar Cubic Feet
6,091
Other Carrier Modes and Metrics
SmartWay plans to incorporate emission factors for ocean-going marine freight, and
gram per volume-mile emission factors for all modes, in the near future.
% SmartWay Value
The % SmartWay screen tracks the portion of goods that shippers move with
23
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SmartWay Partners (expressed as a percentage between 0 and 100). You may select
either ton-miles or total miles as the basis for determining your % SmartWay Value.
Note that the Tool will automatically populate the % SmartWay screen with any carrier
activity data entered in the Activity Data screen. In addition, the metric selected for the
first business unit (miles or ton-miles) will be chosen as the basis for your other
business units as well, so that a company-level % SmartWay Value can be calculated.
To see your company-level % SmartWay Value, calculated across all business units, go
to the % SmartWay Report in the Reports Menu via the Home page.
3.0 Data Validation
The Logistics Tool also contains data validation checks designed to identify missing and
potentially erroneous data. At this time the only validation involves payload checks and
total ton-mile checks, on the Activity Data screen.
Payload Validation
Payload validation cutpoints were set with the intention of identifying those payloads
that are somewhat outside typical industry values (yellow flag warnings) and those that
are far outside industry averages (red flag warnings). Checks are applied at the carrier
(row) level. Both direct payload inputs and indirect payload (derived from density and
load % calculators) must be checked, using the same criteria for each.
Payload checks are specific to the truck SmartWay Category, which is specified for
each carrier in the Carrier Data File. For Truck carriers, the payload checks are
consistent with the Class 8b payload checks currently in the Truck Tool, and are shown
below in Table 10. (See the Truck Tool Technical Documentation for additional
information.) Note that Ranges 1 and 5 are colored red in the Tool, and require
explanations before proceeding. Ranges 2 and 4 are colored yellow, and explanations
are optional.
24
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Table 10. Truck Carrier Payload Validation Ranges
Truck Bin Category
Range
1 Low
Range
1 High
/ 2 Low
Range
2 High
/ 3 Low
Range
3 High
/ 4 Low
Range
4 High
/ 5 Low
Range
5 High
(Max)
LTL Dry Van (from Dry Van
Single - LTL-Moving-
Package)20
0.0
0.0
0.0
13.5
20.8
150.0
Package (from Dry Van
Single - LTL-Moving-
Package)22
0.0
0.0
0.0
13.5
20.8
150.0
TL Dry Van (from Dry Van
Single - other bins)
0.0
10.5
14.5
22.4
26.4
150.0
Refrigerated
0.0
14.5
17.3
22.9
25.7
82.5
Flatbed
0.0
14.0
18.3
26.7
31.0
99.9
Tanker
0.0
19.1
22.0
27.8
30.7
103.8
Moving (from Dry Van Single
- LTL-Moving-Package)
0.0
6.9
11.0
19.1
23.2
83.7
Specialized (from Specialty -
Other bins)
0.0
20.2
22.9
28.3
31.1
111.0
Dray (from Chassis)
0.0
11.2
16.5
27.1
32.4
73.5
Auto Carrier
0.0
5.7
11.0
21.4
26.6
73.5
Heavy-Bulk
0.0
2.7
16.5
44.0
57.8
120.0
Utility (from Specialty - Other
bins)
0.0
20.2
22.9
28.3
31.1
111.0
Mixed (from Other - Heavy-
Flatbed-Mixed bins)
0.0
14.7
21.1
33.8
40.1
99.3
Expedited (from Dry Van
Single - other bins)
0.0
10.5
14.5
22.4
26.4
150.0
With the exception of the LTL and package categories (which are based on 2013 data),
all other logistic carrier payload validations are based on 2011 Logistics Partner data,
and use simple cutoffs from the cumulative payload distribution shown in Figure 1
below.
20 Since LTL and package shipments can be very small, no lower-bound "red/yellow" ranges are designated for LTL
and package carrier payloads. Upper bound yellow and red ranges for LTL and package (and multi-modal) carriers
were set equal to the average payload (6.20) plus twice the standard deviation (7.33) for logistics companies using
these carrier types (n=991 for 2013 data).
25
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Figure 1. Logistics Partner Payload Distribution
Cumulative Payload Distribution - 2011 Logistics
i
0.9
I 08
"+¦»
"§ 0.7
Q.
O
O- 0.6
*_
ai
| 0.5
m
I 0.3
+¦»
-------
Average surface multimodal payloads between 60 and 95 tons (warning - yellow)
In addition, the absolute upper bound for rail and surface multimodal carriers have both
been set at 200 tons. Multimodal carriers with an air component have their maximum
allowable average payload set to 58 tons, corresponding to the maximum payload
capacity for the largest aircraft make/model specified by SmartWay partners. Any
payload value less than or equal to zero will be flagged as an error and must be
changed.
Finally, barge carrier payloads are flagged for verification if their density is greater than
0.6 tons per cubic foot or less than 0.003 tons per cubic foot, consistent with the
payload validation used in the Barge Tool.
Ton-Mile Validation
2011 Logistics Partner data was evaluated to establish absolute upper bounds for ton-
mile inputs. The ton-mile validation applies at the carrier (row) and total fleet
(summation of rows) level, with the same values applied to both. The maximum
allowable ton-mile value was set to twice the observed maximum value in the 2011 data
set: 209,207,446,000 ton-miles.
27
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