Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

newsworthy

Trump infrastructure plan must fully fund freight programs, group says

CAGTC raises concerns of broad-brush approach leaving freight out in the cold.

The Trump administration's $1.5 trillion infrastructure initiative unveiled yesterday contained virtually nothing about supporting the movement of goods. Today, freight interests let the White House know about it.

In a statement, the Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC), a group of public and private sector organizations that lobby for intermodal freight funding, said in a statement that the administration's proposal does not "identify investment amounts specific for freight projects and appears to treat all infrastructure" the same. Such a broad-brush approach "could result in regionally and nationally significant freight infrastructure projects necessary to sustain American economic growth," the group said.


Infrastructure programs at the federal level encompass transportation, energy, broadband, and water. Elaine Nessle, CAGTC's executive director, said today that the White House proposal contained no information about specific programs relating to any of the industries. That may have been by design, she said, because it would be impossible to single out individual programs in a document covering such a large economic footprint.

CAGTC renewed its request to have intermodal projects funded at $2 billion a year above the $2 billion annual baseline that was established under the five-year transport funding bill signed into law in 2015. In the statement, CAGTC emphasized that more than 77 percent of the nation's freight moves between states, requiring a "coordinated federal goods movement strategy supported by sufficient funding levels. "Freight network improvements cannot be delivered piecemeal by states and localities," the group said.

The White House's fiscal year 2019 budget request funds the Department of Transportation at about $76 billion, roughly the same level requested in the Administration's FY 2018 request. Of that, $60.9 billion is allocated to the agency's "mandatory programs," most of which is money set aside for the Highway Trust Fund. Congress is still trying to finalize the agency's FY 2018 budget. The DOT's FY 2017 budget, the last one to be finalized, funded the agency at $73.9 billion.

For the second year in a row, the Administration has proposed to eliminate a popular grant program called "Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery," better known by its acronym of "TIGER." Established in 2009 during the Great Recession, the program leverages funding from multiple sources, including the private sector, to provide grants to projects that would have difficulty obtaining capital through the traditional federal funding process.

Projects containing a strong freight component have received 42 percent of available funding, about $2.25 billion, since the program was created, according to an CAGTC analysis done last year.

The House voted to eliminate TIGER funding for the 2018 fiscal year, while the Senate voted to restore it. Nessle said there has been a pattern in recent years where the House voted to kill it, the Senate disagreed, and the funding was approved anyway.

The Latest

More Stories

screenshot of map of shipping risks

Overhaul lands $55 million backing for risk management tools

The supply chain risk management firm Overhaul has landed $55 million in backing, saying the financing will fuel its advancements in artificial intelligence and support its strategic acquisition roadmap.

The equity funding round comes from the private equity firm Springcoast Partners, with follow-on participation from existing investors Edison Partners and Americo. As part of the investment, Springcoast’s Chris Dederick and Holger Staude will join Overhaul’s board of directors.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Report: Five trends in AI and data science for 2025

Report: Five trends in AI and data science for 2025

Artificial intelligence (AI) and data science were hot business topics in 2024 and will remain on the front burner in 2025, according to recent research published in AI in Action, a series of technology-focused columns in the MIT Sloan Management Review.

In Five Trends in AI and Data Science for 2025, researchers Tom Davenport and Randy Bean outline ways in which AI and our data-driven culture will continue to shape the business landscape in the coming year. The information comes from a range of recent AI-focused research projects, including the 2025 AI & Data Leadership Executive Benchmark Survey, an annual survey of data, analytics, and AI executives conducted by Bean’s educational firm, Data & AI Leadership Exchange.

Keep ReadingShow less
aerial photo of port of miami

East and Gulf coast strike averted with 11th-hour agreement

Shippers today are praising an 11th-hour contract agreement that has averted the threat of a strike by dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports that could have frozen container imports and exports as soon as January 16.

The agreement came late last night between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) representing some 45,000 workers and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) that includes the operators of port facilities up and down the coast.

Keep ReadingShow less
Logistics industry growth slowed in December
Logistics Managers' Index

Logistics industry growth slowed in December

Logistics industry growth slowed in December due to a seasonal wind-down of inventory and following one of the busiest holiday shopping seasons on record, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) report, released this week.

The monthly LMI was 57.3 in December, down more than a percentage point from November’s reading of 58.4. Despite the slowdown, economic activity across the industry continued to expand, as an LMI reading above 50 indicates growth and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Keep ReadingShow less
pie chart of business challenges

DHL: small businesses wary of uncertain times in 2025

As U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face an uncertain business landscape in 2025, a substantial majority (67%) expect positive growth in the new year compared to 2024, according to a survey from DHL.

However, the survey also showed that businesses could face a rocky road to reach that goal, as they navigate a complex environment of regulatory/policy shifts and global market volatility. Both those issues were cited as top challenges by 36% of respondents, followed by staffing/talent retention (11%) and digital threats and cyber attacks (2%).

Keep ReadingShow less