NCHRP Project 08-36
Proposed Research Problem Statement
1. Title
Transportation Users Guide to the Economic Census
2. Background
The U.S. Census Bureau collects and disseminates data on individuals, households, businesses, manufacturing, commodity flows, international trade, and other topics that are used in transportation. The Decennial Census, the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), the American Community Survey (ACS), and the Commodity Flow Survey are probably the best known and most utilized Census products for transportation planning, travel forecasting, and policy making.
The Economic Census and related data programs are less well known and less well utilized by transportation professionals. The Economic Census Transportation Statistics, Service Annual Survey, Quarterly Services Survey, Annual Survey of Manufacturers, Foreign Trade Statistics, and Manufacturer’s Shipments, Inventories, and Orders are currently being used in transportation performance measures, freight planning, transportation and economic development assessments, and a variety of other applications. The Economic Census is also the basis for the Commodity Flow survey, County Business Patterns, and other products used by the transportation community. The effective use of the Census Bureau’s economic data could be increased significantly by providing transportation professionals with a guide to available data, including examples of applications.
3. Statement of Urgency
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is sponsoring a Workshop on the Economic Census: Uses for the Transportation Community on July 17, 2012 in Washington, D.C. The workshop builds on a session on the Economic Census at the 2011 TRB Annual Meeting. The workshop focuses on building awareness and use of the Economic Census and related Census Bureau transportation statistics among transportation and other professionals at the federal, state, regional, and local levels. The use of these data sources can improve and enrich current transportation planning, forecasting, and performance measures efforts, resulting in more strategic investment and operating decisions.
Data collection for the next Economic Census and related surveys are underway, with the release of the first set of major products scheduled for 2013. Developing the user’s guide proposed in this project statement would be very timely, matching the 2013 release of major data products, as well as the ongoing availability of data collected on a quarterly and annual basis. The guide would be of immediate use and benefit to transportation professionals at all levels, university researchers, consultants, and other groups.
4. Project Objective(s)
The objective of this project is to develop a guide for using the Economic Census and related data products by transportation planners and other professionals. The guide would assist users in applying the Economic Census to transportation issues, presenting appropriate analysis techniques, and highlighting case study examples.
5. Relationship to Existing Body of Knowledge
This project builds on the session at the 2011 TRB Annual Meeting and the July 2012 workshop on the Economic Census: Uses for the Transportation Community. The Annual Meeting session and the workshop have developed an awareness of the Economic Census and related data sources among transportation professionals. This guide would further encourage use of the data sources and expand and enhance the user community. It would provide an important addition to the NCHRP portfolio of guides and manuals, benefiting transportation professionals, and policy makers, and ultimately the public.
6. List of Anticipated Work Tasks
The propose work plan includes the following tasks:
Task 1 – Review Existing Guides for Using Census and Related Data
This task will review available guides on using Census data and other related sources. The review will examine the focus, format, and content of exiting guides.
Task 2 – Develop Outline for Users Guide
Based on the review of available guides for using Census data and related sources, an outline of the Transportation Users Guide to the Economic Census will be developed in this task. The outline will present the user friendly structure and format to the guide, the topics to be addressed, the anticipated graphics, and other information. The outline will be reviewed by members of the NCHRP 8-36 panel and NCHRP staff.
Task 3 – Develop Case Study Examples
This task will build on the July 17 workshop session highlighting case studies examples using the Economic Census and related data sources for transportation planning, forecasting, performance measurement, and other applications. Using a common format, the case studies will highlight the project purpose, the data sources, and analysis techniques used and results and research methods. The use of the results in the decision-making process and the benefits will also be described.
Task 4 – Develop Draft and Final Users Guide
The draft and final Transportation Users Guide to the Economic Census will be developed in this task. The guide will incorporate the user-friendly format presented in the outline. The guide will include descriptions of the Economic Census elements and related data sources, explanations of transportation applications and analysis methods, use of American FactFinder to access the data, the case studies, and visual presentation methods. The draft will be reviewed by the 8-36 panel and NCHRP staff and finalized based on any comments or suggestions.
7. Estimate of Funds Needed
$80,000
8. Estimate of Time Needed to Complete the Research
One Year
9. Name, Affiliation, and Contact Information of Submitter(s)
This project statement is submitted by the following members of the Planning Group for the TRB Workshop on the Economic Census: Uses for the Transportation Community:
Katie Turnbull
Texas Transportation Institute
(979) 845-6005
Rolf Schmitt
Federal Highway Administration
(202) 366-9258
Thomas Bolle
Research and Innovative Technology Administration
(202) 366-0665
10. Date of Submittal
March 30, 2012