In his 14 years with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Andrew Andrusko never encountered a training and learning opportunity that matched the Freight Academy. He attended in 2019, when he was Principal Transportation Planner for MnDOT, and the experience provided valuable context in freight logistics, planning and administration that he would not have acquired elsewhere.
“The value of the Freight Academy is in providing the knowledge, experience and opportunities in an academic sense, as well as in a real-world, practical sense,” Andrew said. “In the public sector, there isn’t another educational opportunity that is similar to this. It’s a unique chance to learn this specialty area, and there’s nothing like this anywhere else.”
The Freight Academy afforded him and his fellow public sector professionals the opportunity to see the ports of New York and New Jersey and Lehigh Valley, which are key supply chain sites. Many of the members of his cohort, himself included, had never been to any of those facilities before, and felt the in-person visits were invaluable.
The presentations given by freight and logistics professionals provided real-world insights from the challenges they face in both the private and public sectors, were eye opening and the full impact, along with the tours of the ports, were best appreciated by attending in person.
“I think it would be really hard to do this online or any other way,” he said. “It’s incredibly helpful to go on these tours, interact with peers, and hear these presentations in person.”
Touring facilities that import cars and manufacture commercial trucks, see their supply chains, technologies, and equipment they need to produce and move their goods and services were particularly useful.
“We’re often stuck behind a desk,” he said. “We don’t often get chances to get out in the field and see how goods and services actually move, and it gives me a better sense about the challenges that occur beyond my office. We take those things to heart at MnDOT.”
Acquiring additional training in freight planning is not easy since it’s a unique and fairly small, specialized area. This is where attending the Freight Academy provides benefit and value, particularly to mid-career professionals transitioning into freight planning in the private sector.
“The Freight Academy is an environment in which you can speak freely with others who are also learning. It provides an opportunity to be better prepared to connect with freight stakeholders where your ability to understand freight is important,” he said. “By participating in the Freight Academy, you’re also building relationships, which is another huge value, and you build a network of people that you will come to rely on when you need feedback, information, and help with your challenges.”
Upon his return from the Freight Academy, Andrew’s new perspective on the supply chain, specifically in rural areas like his own, proved to be helpful in his own agency. He brought innovative ideas about how to manage growth in warehouse and distribution centers that came from open, green fields in areas that are unused to that level of development.
“We work in a very rural context, and the way we interact with other agencies can be different,” he said. “I remember we learned about freight land use growth and the footprint of the supply chain that serves the New York greater metro region, and to an extent, New Jersey. It’s very relevant to us to talk about professional planning practices and land use coordination best practices in managing rapid freight related land uses in areas that are not used to that type of development.”
Examining complex differences in the supply chain in rural areas where farm products must be moved is critical. Those chains can span the entire nation. His agency works with companies that move products from Minnesota to as far away as China, so infrastructure needs to support local businesses accordingly and ensure the economy continues to grow.
“I learned so much from the presentations, because I got a frame of reference about differences in the economy and in supply chains around the country,” he said. “I returned from the Freight Academy with a better orientation to freight businesses, freight generators, freight companies, our shippers and carriers and their needs.”
Since his experience at the Freight Academy, Andrew has been elevated to Freight and Railroad Planning Director for MnDOT.
“I believe that my attendance at the Freight Academy helped me gain this promotion,” he said. “Part of the value is providing technical expertise and education in a way you couldn’t get elsewhere. While I am no longer an individualized contributor, this experience provides additional value to my agency. A supervisory role requires more skills, but if you don’t understand the basics, the technology, and professional practices, that’s a disadvantage in providing public service. The Freight Academy helped provide the technical foundation for supervising others and helped advance my career.”
