Development of National Freight Demand Model with Limited Data and Resources

This paper proposes a freight demand modeling framework with minimum data requirements that is suitable for developing countries, where there is lack of complete freight data or the resources to conduct comprehensive freight demand data collection efforts. The framework is developed as a variant of the four step modeling process with additional steps to estimate traffic flows from freight flows and to consider empty trips. The steps required for the practical implementation of the framework for the case of the Country of Colombia are discussed. For each step, data, data sources and modeling methodologies used are described. A description is provided about the data limitations and the measures taken to complement the available data. From the implementation, the authors identify a set of advantages derived from the modeling approaches considered and suggestions for improvement.