Data from: Exploratory research on transportation related issues with manufacturers in small urban, rural and tribal areas

The Small Urban, Rural, and Tribal Center on Mobility (SURTCOM) at Montana
State University focuses on research that improves the mobility of people
and goods in small urban, rural, and tribal areas. In response to the
challenges identified during the 2017 workshop, SURTCOM, in partnership
with MMEC, began exploratory research. The goal of this project was to
better understand specific challenges manufacturers face when receiving
raw materials into their facilities or transporting finished products to
the next facility. The research explored production in rural communities
and how current transportation issues will likely increase as populations
and demands continue to grow in rural and mega regions. Following a
literature review, the research team reached out to the MEP National
Network Centers in fourteen peer states (large, rural, western states) for
help distributing a survey to manufacturers to quantify to what extent
transportation issues affect them. For this study, when reaching out to
tribal manufacturers, only federally recognized tribal communities were
considered, omitting tribes that are state-recognized but not federally
recognized (Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Areas were not used to measure
tribal population).