In an Australian-first, mapping and geospatial specialists Geoplex have developed a national interactive tool to help provide vital insights into Australia’s freight system.
The National Freight Data Hub (NFDH) was developed by Geoplex, part of the Nova Group, working with the Commonwealth. The Hub will help industry, governments and researchers to better understand Australia’s freight system, evaluate and plan for the future.
“The Geoplex team used the best spatial and analytical tools in an agile and user-friendly method to deliver open access to freight data,” Geoplex Business Manager, Danny Haipola said.
“It was a great experience for us to work collaboratively with the NFDH team to realize the national vision for the Hub.
“The team was able to bring together freight data from all many sources and allow us to work on solutions to visualize this freight data and make it available to stakeholders and the public.”
The Hub shows congestion insights, the number of trucks and containers on the road, roadworks, border restrictions and rest stops.
National Freight Data Hub Director, Georgia O’Cianain, said: “The Hub features interactive insights and uses cutting-edge geo-spatial visualization tools so industry and governments get a national picture of freight movements.
“It showcases how we can make better use of current data to answer our enduring freight questions such as what freight is being moved – and when and where.
“Over the next four years we will work with industry and governments to make these data samples more complete, more up date, and more useful for decision makers.”
The insights aim to help industry make more efficient decisions on movements, and even better understand the impact of traffic congestion on freight pricing.
One sample showed that congestion adds approximately 25 per cent more time on key freight routes in Sydney in the morning peak and evening peaks.
However, the highest peak congestion sample was in Melbourne at 5.00pm, where journeys were calculated to take 38 per cent longer across the city on key freight routes.
