Mid-America Freight Coalition

Mid-America Freight Coalition
Name	Mid-America Freight Coalition
Type	Nonprofit consortium
Founded	2008
Headquarters	St. Louis, Missouri
Region	Midwestern United States

Mid-America Freight Coalition is a regional planning consortium focused on freight transportation and logistics across the Midwestern United States. It convenes public agencies, port authorities, metropolitan planning organizations, and private carriers to coordinate multimodal corridors, supply chain resilience, and infrastructure investment. The coalition informs state departments of transportation, regional economic development groups, and federal agencies on freight movement and corridor performance.

History

The coalition was established in 2008 in response to corridor performance concerns highlighted by U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, and state-level transportation studies such as those by Missouri Department of Transportation and Illinois Department of Transportation. Early cooperative work drew upon models from the Interstate Highway System era, lessons from the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area freight networks, and corridor analyses associated with Mississippi River port communities. Throughout the 2010s the coalition engaged with initiatives linked to National Highway Freight Program, FAST Act, and regional planning efforts coordinated with Metropolitan Planning Organization partners in the St. Louis region, Kansas City metropolitan area, and Quad Cities. The group expanded partnerships during the 2020s amid supply chain disruptions tied to events involving Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach, and national responses by the United States Congress.

Organization and Membership

Membership includes state transportation agencies such as Missouri Department of Transportation, Illinois Department of Transportation, Iowa Department of Transportation, and Wisconsin Department of Transportation, along with municipal entities like City of St. Louis, City of Kansas City, Missouri, and regional authorities including the East-West Gateway Council of Governments and Bi-State Development Agency. Private-sector members span freight carriers including representatives from Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, and terminal operators linked to the Port of St. Louis and inland ports near the Mississippi River. Academic affiliates include researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, University of Missouri–St. Louis, Iowa State University, and University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign; financing partners include U.S. Department of Transportation grant administrators and philanthropic actors similar to Bloomberg Philanthropies in transportation policy. Steering committees have included representatives from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and freight-focused divisions of the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

Programs and Initiatives

The coalition sponsors corridor studies, freight performance measurement programs, and resiliency planning tied to networks like Interstate 70, Interstate 55, Interstate 64, and the Missouri River barge system. Initiatives have addressed port connectivity with projects modeled after Ports America operations, intermodal terminals exemplified by Global IV, and truck parking and safety strategies influenced by American Trucking Associations research. Programs include grant applications to funding sources such as the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program and partnerships for pilot deployments with technology providers from Federal Highway Administration innovation demonstrations. Collaborative initiatives have been coordinated with workforce entities including State Workforce Agencies and training programs akin to those at St. Louis Community College.

Research and Planning

Research activities produce corridor performance metrics, origin–destination studies, and scenario analyses drawing on methods used by Bureau of Transportation Statistics and modeling platforms from Metropolitan Transportation Commission-style planning. The coalition publishes freight element recommendations for long-range plans in collaboration with Metropolitan Planning Organizations across the region and uses data from private sector sources including Automatic Identification System analogs and rail interchange records from Association of American Railroads. Planning work aligns with national frameworks promoted by USDOT modal administrations and integrates resilience planning informed by case studies like disruptions at Port of New York and New Jersey and climate impacts documented by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Academic partnerships produce peer-reviewed outputs and technical memoranda in cooperation with centers such as Center for Transportation Studies at regional universities.

Infrastructure and Projects

Project portfolios emphasize multimodal chokepoint relief, rail-to-truck interchanges, and river port modernization. Examples include conceptual work on expanding capacity at intermodal yards modeled after improvements at Chicago Rail Hub facilities and feasibility assessments for inland port enhancements similar to Virginia Inland Port operations. Infrastructure projects coordinated by members address bridge rehabilitation on corridors related to Mississippi River Bridge crossings, grade separation projects inspired by Positive Train Control safety priorities, and truck route optimization near industrial clusters such as those in the St. Louis Manufacturing Belt. Projects often leverage funding mechanisms from Economic Development Administration and state bonding authorities, and coordinate environmental review processes akin to those managed under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Policy and Advocacy

The coalition engages in policy advocacy on freight priorities before bodies such as the United States Congress, state legislatures of Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and federal agencies including U.S. Department of Transportation. Policy focus areas include freight investment prioritization under the National Multimodal Freight Policy, regulatory alignment for truck size and weight negotiations comparable to debates involving American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and supply chain resilience measures reflected in legislation like the FAST Act. The group issues policy briefs and testimony for regional hearings alongside partners such as American Association of Port Authorities and Transportation Research Board committees, advocating coordinated corridor investment, data-sharing protocols, and workforce development aligned with regional economic platforms like those advanced by Economic Development Corporation partners.

Category:Transportation planning organizations