Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

newsworthy

No plans to lobby for longer twin-trailers in '17, ATA says

List of legislative priorities excludes longer-truck efforts.

The trucking industry does not plan to lobby in 2017 to extend the length of twin-trailers beyond their current legal limit of 28 feet each, according to the American Trucking Associations' (ATA) list displayed yesterday at the SMC3 annual winter meeting in Atlanta.

The list of 19 issues identified by ATA as "strategic priorities" for the year did not include efforts to convince Congress or the Trump administration to support raising the limit on the length of twin trailers to 33 feet each. Segments of the trucking industry, including ATA, endorsed the plan in 2015, even though a large number of truckload carriers that comprise the core of the group's membership opposed it. The measure, which seemed to have a strong shot at being incorporated in the 2015 federal transport spending bill known as the "FAST" Act, was killed by House negotiators shortly before the bill passed.


Kevin Burch, CEO of Dayton, Ohio-based Jet Express and the new ATA chairman, acknowledged at today's SMC3 conference that the measure had caused an uncomfortable split among the group's members. Omaha-based Werner Enterprises Inc. and Chattanooga-based US Xpress Inc., two large truckload carriers, had backed the provision.

Supporters of the initiative, namely shippers and less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers, said it would boost productivity and reduce the number of carriers on the road because each twin-trailer could haul more goods. The provision was mostly tailored to benefit LTL carriers looking to transport more e-commerce shipments. The 28-foot per-trailer limit has been in place since 1982.

ATA also doesn't expect any push by the White House or Congress to raise the federal motor fuels taxes in 2017, Burch said, noting that the new administration plans to stick to its mantra of no new taxes. Today, the White House froze action on all pending government regulations until the various regulatory agencies can analyze their cost and effectiveness. The federal tax on gasoline and diesel fuel has not been raised since 1993.

Despite the legislative murkiness, attendees at the SMC3 event were bullish about trucking's 2017 prospects. David S. Congdon, CEO of Thomasville, N.C.-based LTL carrier Old Dominion Freight Line Inc., said his segment was seeing an increase in weight per shipment—a positive sign for revenue and profitability—due in large part to a double digit increase in tonnage related to the construction industry, LTL's bread-and-butter. Congdon said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the 2017 outlook, a view largely shared by attendees, many of whom projected 2 to 3 percent GDP growth, and more favorable industrial production activity.

Attendees were also heartened by the Trump administration's plans to pour as much as $1.3 trillion into infrastructure spending, cut corporate taxes, and roll back regulations. The latter step would be especially welcomed by truckers, many of whom have felt singled out for regulatory abuse during the past eight years. As Congdon put it, "we are the most overregulated deregulated industry in America."

The Latest

More Stories

team collaborating on data with laptops

Gartner: data governance strategy is key to making AI pay off

Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.

"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

manufacturing job growth in US factories

Savills “cautiously optimistic” on future of U.S. manufacturing boom

The U.S. manufacturing sector has become an engine of new job creation over the past four years, thanks to a combination of federal incentives and mega-trends like nearshoring and the clean energy boom, according to the industrial real estate firm Savills.

While those manufacturing announcements have softened slightly from their 2022 high point, they remain historically elevated. And the sector’s growth outlook remains strong, regardless of the results of the November U.S. presidential election, the company said in its September “Savills Manufacturing Report.”

Keep ReadingShow less
dexory robot counting warehouse inventory

Dexory raises $80 million for inventory-counting robots

The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.

A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.

Keep ReadingShow less
container cranes and trucks at DB Schenker yard

Deutsche Bahn says sale of DB Schenker will cut debt, improve rail

German rail giant Deutsche Bahn AG yesterday said it will cut its debt and boost its focus on improving rail infrastructure thanks to its formal approval of the deal to sell its logistics subsidiary DB Schenker to the Danish transport and logistics group DSV for a total price of $16.3 billion.

Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.

Keep ReadingShow less
containers stacked in a yard

Reinke moves from TIA to IANA in top office

Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.

Reinke will take her new job upon the retirement of Joni Casey at the end of the year. Casey had announced in July that she would step down after 27 years at the helm of IANA.

Keep ReadingShow less