Comprehensive Freight Demand Data Collection Framework for Large Urban Areas - Sustainable Urban Logistics: Concepts, Methods and Information Systems - page 99

Table 5 Summary of data collection methodologies

Description

Application Type/Collection

methods

Strengths Weakness

Establishment
based

Shipper Provides measures of

total sales, market
share, materials
quantity/cost, modes,
production hours,
and location

Examples include:
Commodity Flow
Survey, and Annual
Survey of
Manufacturers

Self-administered or
staff-assisted surveys
to agents that ship
out the cargoes

Ability to capture data
about the
characteristics of
the cargo. May be
complemented
with shipment
tracking

Questionable validity
about routes,
intermediaries,
processing/transfer
points, etc. data

Receiver Targets the receivers of

the shipments

Freight/Freight Trip
demand generation
models

Self-administered or
staff assisted surveys

Can provide excellent
data about the
goods received

Receivers are unaware
of the cargo
transportation
aspects

Carrier Most widely used

approach to collect
freight data

Examples include:
Freight Movement
Survey and the
Highway Carrier
Attitude Survey

Based on Vehicle
Registration
samples. Provide
vehicle detailed trip
travel information.
Mail-out or
Computer Assisted
Telephone
Interviews (CATI)
surveys

Target population
relatively easily
defined. Collects
good travel
patterns data.
Vehicle list
obtained from
Department of
Motor Vehicles

Questionable quality of
cargo related data.
Mismatch between
vehicle registration
lists and commercial
vehicle population
in urban areas

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