Developing the Red River: Facilitating the decision utilizing design of experiment methodology

Abstract The Red River is one of the last great rivers in the United States that is only partially developed for transportation and recreational purposes. The continued development of the Red River, however, remains a policy question. The impact of Red River navigability offers opportunities for regional economic development, and the creation of shipping related businesses have the potential to drive capital investment. This paper utilizes design of experiment (DOE) methodology on data from a database provided by the National Waterways Conference to provide information of which decision makers, policy makers, and congressional members can use to evaluate the decision to continue further developing the Red River. The rivers present a good experimental comparison because they are geographically relatively close, they carry similar types of cargo, and they serve similar client bases, including significant agricultural regions of the United States. The results from this experiment show significance in various factors that support the development of the Red River. This study reinforces the importance of heavy cargo loads contributing to decision factors for developing the Red River. This study supports the objectives of the “Marine Highways” Congressional Act with results encouraging the final stages of development for the Red River highway system.