Use infographics to understand total addressable market

A railway company operates rail lines throughout Iowa. Among other things, the lines transport grain and intermodal shipping containers. The total addressable market for these services is limited by the nearby facilities that handle these types of freight. To better understand its total addressable market, the railway company wants to know more about the grain and intermodal shipping facilities near its lines. It needs this information presented in a way that the company's executives can understand so they can make decisions about how to best target relevant businesses in the area.

In this tutorial, you'll first map the rail lines in ArcGIS Online. Then, you'll create buffers around the lines at distances of 1, 3, and 5 miles and import them to ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App. Finally, you'll design an infographic that shows key information about the grain and intermodal shipping facilities within the buffer areas.

This tutorial was last tested on May 22, 2025.

Requirements

• ArcGIS organizational account with a Publisher, Facilitator, or Administrator role (see options for software access)
• ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App Advanced

Map rail infrastructure

To learn about the total addressable market around the rail lines, you must first visualize the lines on a map. You'll map rail line data in ArcGIS Online and create buffers around the lines in preparation for further analysis in ArcGIS Business Analyst.

Add rail lines to a map

First, you'll create a map in ArcGIS Online showing all active rail lines in Iowa.

1. Sign in to your ArcGIS organizational account.

   Note:

   If you don't have an organizational account, see options for software access.

2. On the ribbon, click Map.

   

   Map Viewer opens.

3. In the Layers pane, click Add.

   

   By default, the search shows your content.

4. Click My content and choose ArcGIS Online. In the search bar, type Rail Line Active.

   

5. For Rail Line Active by Iowa Department of Transportation, click the Add button.

   

   The Rail Line Active layer is added to the map. The map zooms to the state of Iowa.

   

Filter the rail lines

The map currently shows all active rail lines in Iowa. You'll filter the layer to show only main lines operated by a specific company.

1. On the Settings (light) toolbar, click Filter.

   

2. In the Filter pane, click Add new.
3. Under Condition, create the expression Owner is Iowa Interstate RR Ltd.

   Note:

   The owner was chosen for demonstration purposes only. This tutorial depicts a fictitious workflow and does not reflect any plans, inside knowledge, business recommendations, or business relationships with the company used in the example.

   

   You'll add another condition to also filter the rail lines so only main lines are used.

4. Click Add new. For the second condition, create the expression Track Type is Main.

   

5. At the bottom of the Filter pane, click Save.

   The map is filtered to show only main lines owned by a specific company.

   

Create buffers

To set up areas for your analysis, you'll create buffers around the rail lines on your map. Buffers are areas created around features calculated by distance from a point or line. You'll create three buffers—at 1, 3, and 5 miles from the rail lines—to assess freight facilities at various distances. Creating buffers will allow you to perform analysis and run reports and infographics on the market areas surrounding the lines. Understanding market prospects at varying distances can help target marketing and outreach, as well as allocate resources.

1. On the Settings toolbar, click Analysis.

   

2. In the Analysis pane, click Tools.
3. In the Tools pane, expand Use proximity and click Create Buffers.

   

   The Create Buffers tool appears.

4. Under Input features, for Input layer, click the Layer button. Choose Rail Line Active.

   

5. Under Buffer settings, for Distance values, type 1 and press Enter. Add distance values for 3 and 5.

   

6. For Units, choose Miles. For Overlap policy, choose Dissolve.

   

   Dissolved buffers create a single, continuous area around the rail lines.

7. Under Result layer, for Output name, type Rail Line Buffers, followed by your name or initials.

   Note:

   You cannot create two layers in an ArcGIS organization with the same name. Adding your initials to a layer name ensures that other people in your organization can also complete this tutorial. Once a layer has been created, you can rename it in the map to remove your initials, which will not affect the name of the underlying data layer.

8. Click Estimate credits.

   

   Running this tool will require 0.62 credits.

9. Click Run.

   While the tool runs, you can view its progress in the History tab.

   

   Once complete, your buffer layer appears on the map.

10. On the map, zoom in until you can clearly see the 1-mile, 3-mile, and 5-mile buffers around the rail lines.

    

    This is the layer you'll use to create an infographic of nearby freight facilities in Business Analyst.

Add the data to Business Analyst

You've prepared your data in ArcGIS Online. Next, you'll bring your work into ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App to analyze the railway's market prospects based on nearby grain and intermodal freight facilities.

First, you'll create a project in Business Analyst.

1. In a new window or tab, open the Business Analyst Web App.

   Note:

   For this tutorial, it isn't necessary to save the map you created in ArcGIS Online. The buffer layer was automatically saved to your account when you created it.

2. If necessary, click Sign In. Sign in to the account you used for ArcGIS Online.

   Note:

   Your account must be licensed to use Business Analyst Web App. If you are the administrator of your organization, you can assign yourself a license. Otherwise, you'll need to contact your administrator for permission.

   If you have previously used Business Analyst, the app may open in an existing project. If so, on the ribbon, click Home.

3. On the Home pane, click New project.

   

4. In the Create project window, for Project name, type Rail Line Market Development and add your name or initials. Click Create.

   A message explains that the project is being created. When it finishes, either the project opens automatically or a confirmation message appears.

5. If the confirmation message appears, check Open new projects as soon as they are created and click OK.

   The project opens.

   Tip:

   If your project does not open, you can open it from the Home page. Under Recently Created, confirm that the Projects tab is selected. Point to your Rail Line Market Development project and click Open project.

   Next, you'll add the buffer layer you created in ArcGIS Online to Business Analyst.

6. On the ribbon, click Add data and choose Web maps and layers.

   

   The Web maps and layers window appears. There are options to browse through content you own as well as other items from ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, and so on.

7. In the Web maps and layers window, ensure the All my content tab is selected.

   

8. In the list of content, point to the Rail Line Buffers layer and click Add to map.

   

   The layer is added to the project, but the map's zoom extent does not change.

9. In the project pane, for Rail Line Buffers, click the options button and choose Zoom to web map.

   

   The map zooms to the layer.

Create sites

Next, you'll create a site for each buffer distance. Sites are geographic features saved in your Business Analyst project. Though it is possible to run infographics on individual buffer distances, by creating sites you can give each buffer distance its own name, which will make them more distinguishable when you run infographics on them. Sites can also be used for a wider range of analyses in Business Analyst compared to layers added from ArcGIS Online.

1. On the map, zoom in until you can see each buffer distance clearly. Click the innermost buffer distance.

   A pop-up appears with options for the layer.

2. Confirm that the top of the pop-up says 1 of 3.

   

   Note:

   If the pop-up doesn't say 1 of 3, you did not select all three buffer distances. On the map, click the innermost buffer to select all three buffers at once.

3. Click Create sites.

   

   Note:

   You're choosing the Create sites option instead of Create site for combined areas because each of your buffer sites must be saved individually. Choosing Create site for combined areas would create a single feature with multiple buffers. Once combined, any infographics would run for all buffers at once.

   You have the option to change the style of the sites before you create them.

4. For Fill colors, click the color swatch. Click the light green color on the first row (#ddffbb).

   

5. Click Create 3 sites.
6. In the Save created sites window, confirm Create a new layer is selected. Type Rail Line Buffer Sites.

   

7. Click Save.

   The sites are created. When complete, Rail Line Buffer Sites is added to the map and the project pane. You no longer need your original buffer layer, so you'll turn it off.

8. In the project pane, under Web maps and layers, uncheck the Rail Line Buffers layer.

   

   Each of the three sites you created has a default, generic name. You'll change the site names to something more descriptive.

9. On the map, if necessary, click the innermost buffer site to open its pop-up.

   This buffer, the 1-mile buffer, is named Feature 3 by default.

10. In the pop-up, click Feature 3 to edit the title. Type 1 mile rail buffer and press Enter.

    

11. On the map, click the second buffer (Feature 2). Rename it to 3 mile rail buffer.
12. Rename Feature 1 to 5 mile rail buffer.
13. In the project pane, under Polygons (sites), expand Rail Line Buffer Sites.

    

    The three sites are listed, all with appropriate and descriptive names.

You have added data to a map in Business Analyst. The data you added is important for understanding the market surrounding rail lines in Iowa. Next, you'll design an infographic for the sites to learn about the accessible grain and intermodal shipping facilities.

Create an infographic

Your project now contains the necessary data to start analyzing the total addressable market around rail lines. You have access to data that shows where grain is stored and where transport can be maneuvered throughout the state. Next, you'll design an infographic to analyze and display the data that is near the company's rail lines.

Design an infographic template

You want to understand the number of grain and intermodal facilities that can be found within each of the buffers around the active rail lines. This will help you understand the proximity of these facilities to the railway and to assess the potential to create new intermodal facilities near target businesses and population centers, as well as target businesses that aren't yet using rail for freight transport. You'll design an infographic template to clearly display this information.

1. On the ribbon, click the Reports tab.

   

2. Click Build infographics.

   

   The Start with a template pane appears. There are multiple standard templates provided by Esri, as well as any shared by your organization or that you've previously built. You want to display specialized data based on specific layers, so you'll start with a blank template.

3. Click the Blank templates tab. Point to the Blank template and click Open.

   

   A blank infographic template appears. You'll build your infographic by adding panels. Once you've added a panel, you can choose what kind of element goes into it, such as text, charts, images, and so on.

4. On the template design ribbon, click the Add element button. For Choose type of floating panel to add, click Nearby.

   

   The Add nearby locations window appears with a variety of elements that can be added to this panel. You'll browse for a layer of freight grain facilities on ArcGIS Online

5. In the Add nearby locations window, choose Browse for a layer on ArcGIS.

   

6. In the Select a layer window, under Explore, click the ArcGIS tab.

   

7. In the search bar, type Freight Grain Facility and press Enter. In the list of results, point to Freight Grain Facility (Tutorial) and click Open.

   

   Next, you are given the option to choose the attributes in the layer you want displayed in your infographic. To assist with site selection, it's helpful to show the facility name, location, capacity, and other attributes. The direction and distance from the rail line to the grain facility are automatically added.

8. For Select the attributes that will be displayed in the table, select the following variables in the listed order:
   • City Name
   • Facility Name
   • Hopper Capacity
   • Number of Elevators
   • Storage Capacity

   As you select attributes, they're added to the Selected variables list. If you accidentally add an item, or add an item in the wrong order, you can always remove the item or reorder it in the Selected variables window.

9. Click the Selected variables button.

   

   You'll adjust the order of variables so that Distance and Direction are the final two variables.

10. Drag the Distance and Direction variables to the bottom of the list.

    

11. Click Next.

    The next window allows you to add filters to this element of the infographic. You won't use filters so you can see all relevant results.

12. Click Next.

    The final window allows you to change the appearance of the panel. You'll use the default appearance.

13. Click Apply.

    The Nearby Locations interactive panel is added to the infographic template.

    

14. Drag the panel to the upper left of your infographic template.

    As you move the panel, the exact coordinates of its location on the template are shown. There is no need to be perfectly exact; an approximate upper left position is fine. Next, you'll resize the panel to show all the attributes.

15. Drag the panel's lower right resize handle to widen the panel until it fills the width of the infographic and about half of the page.

    

16. Point to the panel and click Edit. In the list of editing options, choose Edit table style and number of locations.
17. In the More options pane, for Maximum number of locations, type 500.

    

    Since this infographic covers sites within the entire state of Iowa, you'll want to set a high maximum. When you run the infographic for your sites, this setting will allow the infographic to display the total number of grain facilities found within the buffers, no matter how many there are.

    You'll also change the width of each column.

18. Close the More options window. On the panel, drag the column dividers to change the relative widths of the columns in a way you like.

    Tip:

    The sizes you choose for each column don't matter for completing the tutorial, but it's recommended you make Distance, Direction, and Storage Capacity a small size; Number of Elevators and Hopper Capacity a medium size; and Facility Name and City Name the largest size.

    

19. Click Apply.

Add a summary infographic

You'll add one more panel to the infographic. The second panel will also be a Nearby Locations interactive panel, but you'll display this one as a summary rather than a table. This panel will summarize information about intermodal facilities to complement the table about grain facilities.

1. On the ribbon, click the Add element button and choose Nearby.
2. In the Add nearby locations window, click Browse for a layer on ArcGIS.
3. In the Select a layer window, under Explore, click ArcGIS. Search for Rail and Truck Intermodal Freight Facilities and open Rail and Truck Intermodal Freight Facilities (Tutorial).

   

   You'll create a panel displaying the number of intermodal freight facilities. You'll add four more variables that will be displayed when the infographic panel is clicked and expanded.

4. For Select the attributes that will be displayed in the table, select the following variables:
   • City
   • Modes of Transportation
   • Primary Mode of Transportation
   • Railway Company
5. Click Next.
6. In the Add filters to narrow the results pane, click Next.

   The final window allows you to change the appearance of the interactive panel. Instead of showing this panel as a table, like the grain facilities, you'll show it as a summary infographic. A summary infographic uses a graphic and data to quickly summarize a statistic you choose.

7. In the Select method to display results pane, choose Show as summary infographic.

   

8. Click Apply.

   The interactive summary panel is added to your infographic template. To better indicate the nature of the information displayed in this panel, you'll add an icon representing intermodal freight facilities.

9. Click the circle at the top of the interactive summary panel and choose Shapes and icons.

   

   A window appears with a list of icons you can use.

10. In the search bar, type Truck. Under Transportation, click the Truck icon.

    

    The icon is added to the infographic.

11. Point to the infographic element text and click Edit text.

    

12. Delete the existing text and type Intermodal Freight Facilities. Click Apply.
13. Drag the infographic element below the table.

    

14. At the bottom of the pane, click Save.
15. In the Save infographic template window, for Title, type Rail Market Analysis. Click Save.
16. In the Infographic saved window, check Set this as the default infographic in the site menu.

    

    This option ensures that your custom infographic is run by default each time you perform analysis on an area.

17. Click OK.

Run infographics

Now that you've created an infographic template specific to your needs, you'll run infographics on each site and switch between the sites within the infographic viewer.

1. On the ribbon, click the Maps tab.

   

2. In the project pane, for the 3 mile rail buffer site, click the options button and choose Run infographics.

   

   The infographic template you created opens, showing market opportunity within the 3-mile buffer. There are 39 grain facilities and 17 intermodal freight facilities.

3. On the infographic, point to the Intermodal Freight Facilities interactive panel and click Explore for more.

   

   A table containing the details of each of the 17 intermodal facilities appears.

4. In the table, click the Railway Company heading to sort the table by the rail companies that have intermodal facilities linked to them.
5. Click the Filter button. For By keywords, type Des Moines.

   

   The table filters to only show facilities in the City of Des Moines. There are 6 intermodal facilities in Des Moines. Five of these facilities use rail as the primary mode of transportation, while the sixth uses trucks.

6. Close the table.

   To view this information for the other buffer layers, you can change the site.

7. On the ribbon, click the Change site button.

   

8. In the Select Site pane, click 5 mile rail buffer.

   

   The infographic is run for the site you chose. There are 45 grain and 29 intermodal freight facilities within a 5-mile distance from the rail lines.

9. Point to the grain facilities table and click the filter button.

   You'll find facilities with a hopper capacity over 50.

10. For Hopper Capacity, change the lower limit to 50 and press Enter.

    

    The table filters for facilities with a Hopper Capacity of at least 50.

In this tutorial, you added rail lines to a map in ArcGIS Online and created buffers around them. Then, you added the buffer features to Business Analyst. Lastly, you designed an infographic that shows the grain and intermodal freight facilities within the buffer sites. These facilities are crucial to understanding the total addressable market of the lines, as the lines need them to service the surrounding area. With this knowledge, the railway company can make more informed decisions and work to improve their market potential.

You can find more tutorials in the tutorial gallery.

Acknowledgements

• The Rail Line Active in Iowa feature service is provided and maintained by the Iowa Department of Transportation in ArcGIS Online. Accessed June 2023.
• The Rail and Truck Intermodal Freight Facilities feature layer is a snapshot of data for the state of Iowa created from the Intermodal Freight Facilities Rail Trailer on Flatcar and Container on Flatcar feature layer, which is regularly updated by the United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics, under the United States Department of Transportation. Accessed November 2022.
• This tutorial is based on a demonstration of ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App workflows presented at the North American GIS Rail Summit (September 28-29, 2020).
• Gallery card image is © 2023 Adobe Stock. All rights reserved.
• Topographic map sources: Esri, TomTom, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community