The Mid-America Intermodal Port Authority (MAIPA) is a 26-county coalition formed by an interstate compact between Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa to form a port district for the intended purpose of providing long-term benefits to this rural area. Although it is rural, the Mid-America Region is home to many shippers in the agriculture, mineral mining and manufacturing industries that rely on international supply chains for both import of raw materials and the export of raw and finished products.

Since its formation in 1999, a centerpiece of MAIPA efforts has been a proposed port development near Quincy, IL to improve Mississippi River access for area businesses. In 2016, MAIPA submitted a grant application to the USDOT FASTLANE program. The application was unsuccessful, but feedback from federal reviewers suggested that a market assessment would serve to improve future MAIPA applications. MAIPA recently contracted with Quetica to complete the market assessment and the development of a supply chain optimization model. Quetica completed several rounds of stakeholder interviews and assembled the inventory of regional networks. A demand data assessment was completed prior to the optimization analysis. The final stage of the project prepared a business plan and Benefit Cost Analysis for the selected investments. The research team includes Quetica and The Beckett Group.