Transportation

The NGFA outlined priorities to alleviate trucking capacity constraints and improve efficiency within the motor carrier industry in a statement submitted Oct. 10 to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) regarding its hours-of-service rules for commercial motor carriers. In its comments, NGFA said its primary concern for the agricultural industry is the “significantly constrained commercial trucking capacity,” particularly the shortage of available truck drivers, and urged the agency to explore ways to modify its hours-of-service rules ... Read More

The Senate on Oct. 1 voted 99-1 to approve the “America's Water Infrastructure Act,” which includes the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2018 that authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ water resources projects.  In a victory for the NGFA and other organizations whose members are commercial users of the inland waterway users, the bill does not include any authorization language that would allow for lockage fees or tolls on the inland waterways system. Among other things, WRDA 2018 includes funding for the deepening of Savannah Harbor in Georgia and replacement for the ... Read More

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Director of Civil Works James Dalton recently approved the increase in depth of the Mississippi River shipping channel between Baton Rouge, La., and the Gulf of Mexico to 50 feet. In his approval memo sent to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R. D. James on Aug. 3, Dalton said the project now will cost $237.7 million, compared to a 2016 estimate of $88.9 million. Dalton recommended that Congress appropriate the funds needed to move the project forward. The increased cost of annual dredging to maintain the 50-foot channel is estimated at almost ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President The Surface Transportation Board on Sept. 20 notified the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) that it intends to initiate weekly conference calls with “UP senior management” to be briefed on the carrier’s plan to implement its version of the so-called “precision scheduled railroading” operating plan popularized by the late railroad CEO E. Hunter Harrison. UP on Sept. 19 announced that it plans starting Oct. 1 to begin implementing the “core tenets” of precision scheduled railroading as part of the railroad’s “UP Unified Plan 2020.”  UP said it will do so in ... Read More

During the 88th meeting of the Inland Waterways Users Board (IUWB) this week in Paducah, Ky., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials provided updates on lock rehabilitation projects that have significant influence on the efficiency of the nation’s agricultural transportation system and supply chain.  The IUWB is the federal advisory committee tasked with making recommendations to the Corps on the priorities and spending of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. Established in 1986, the IUWB is comprised of 11 members of the shipping and carrier community appointed by the secretary of the ... Read More

President Donald Trump on Aug. 2 signed into law a bill that halts a U.S. Coast Guard rule requiring the use of biometric readers for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) cards at high-risk maritime facilities until an assessment of the program’s effectiveness is prepared and submitted to Congress. The TWIC program was established after 9/11 to improve security at high-risk ports. The legislation (H.R. 5729), the “Transportation Worker Identification Credential Accountability Act of 2018,” prohibits implementation of a rule that was set to take effect this month. Rep. John ... Read More

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved, by voice vote on Aug. 1, the nomination of Martin Oberman to serve on the Surface Transportation Board, which provides regulatory oversight of the freight rail industry. The full Senate now can confirm all three STB nominees during its August work period. Oberman, who President Donald Trump nominated on July 5, enjoyed an uncontentious nomination hearing on July 26. He would fill the Democratic seat vacated by former STB Chairman Dan Elliott, whose term expires on Dec. 31, 2023. Two other STB nominees – Patrick Fuchs and ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President Martin J. Oberman, who President Donald Trump nominated on July 5 to fill the final vacancy on the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB), enjoyed an uncontentious nomination hearing on July 26 conducted by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. During his testimony, Oberman pledged to bring a “fresh outlook” to the STB.  “Honoring precedent and not changing systems that are not broken are important values to which I adhere, and there are often sound reasons to continue operations and policies used in the past, particularly ... Read More