On August 23, 2012, the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) announced formation of the Freight Policy Council to develop a National Freight Strategic Plan as called for by the two-year Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century (MAP-21) transportation reauthorization bill That plan will identify some 27,000 miles of Primary Freight Network, as well as other roads comprising rural freight routes. MAP-21 also calls on the states to plan for supporting freight uses along those corridors by developing state plans. Read more about MAP-21's freight components in a previous Policy Update. In today's announcement, Secretary Ray LaHood emphasized that the Council will consider all freight modes in its work.

Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari will chair the Council, which will consist of U.S. DOT leadership from highways, rail, ports, and airports, as well as economic and policy experts from across the Administration. Freight and logistics providers will be invited to be part of a stakeholders' group in addition to consumers.

The formation of the Freight Policy Council and its stated focus on multimodal issues is an important step forward. GO TO 2040 emphasizes the need for a multimodal transportation system that pays greater attention to all freight modes Read more in CMAP's recent freight drill-down report