Insights - December 2013 - (Page 2)

Contents Federal Update..................................................2 Freight Reports .................................................9 2011-2013 Yearly Traffic Totals ........................11 Sustainability News ........................................11 Port News .......................................................15 People in the News .........................................16 In Brief ............................................................18 Welcome New Members .................................21 Intermodal Calendar .......................................24 Cover image courtesy of Hub Group Intermodal Insights is published monthly by the Intermodal Association of North America for the benefit of its members. Intermodal Insights is a registered trademark of the Intermodal Association of North America. All rights reserved. Paul Scott Abbott, Editor Send press releases and letters to the editor to insights@intermodal.org. Must be received by the 10th of the month to be considered for inclusion in the next issue. Maggie Miller, Advertising Sales 301-982-3400, ext. 350 advertising@intermodal.org Joanne F. Casey, President & CEO INTERMODAL ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA 11785 Beltsville Drive, Suite 1100 Calverton, MD 20705-4048 301-982-3400 * Fax: 301-982-4815 www.intermodal.org Federal Update DOT's Draft of Primary Freight Network Could Be Problematic Despite DOT's longstanding recognition of the critical importance of intermodal freight connectors to seaports and inland intermodal facilities, and its previous proposal to set aside a percentage of National Highway System funds for connectors, the methodology chosen by DOT in creating the draft PFN does not automatically include these road segments. In fact, many such connectors are absent in the initial designations. The PFN was developed using freight value and tonnage, and truck volume criteria. All land ports of entry with truck traffic higher that 75,000 trucks per year were also included. Intermodal connectors to ports and other freight facilities were considered for inclusion only if they were located in urban areas with a population of 200,000 or more but could then be eliminated if other criteria were not met. Connectors in other areas (those not meeting the urban population test) were not included, with the DOT specifically recognizing that connectors in urban areas not meeting the initial PFN criteria would have no mechanism to be included if they were not already a part of the interstate highway system. The result of this methodology is that many critical intermodal connectors have been excluded from the PFN. One obvious example is the Port of Los Angeles. This location was not included in the DOT draft even though it is situated near the terminus of the 110 and 710 freeways, both of which have certain other segments designated as parts of the PFN. Various freight stakeholder groups, including IANA, will be filing comments with the DOT in this issue, requesting reconsideration of the initial designations and recommending the addition of other segments. The DOT draft can be viewed at: www.regulations.gov/#!do cumentDetail;D=FHWA-2013-0050-0001. Bill Aims to Block New HOS Mandate As controversy over the new federal hours-of-service rule for truck drivers continues to heat up, three congressmen - two Republicans and a Democrat - have introduced a bill that would at least temporarily put the brakes on the 34-hour restart mandate contained in the HOS rule that took effect July 1. The bipartisan measure, H.R. 3413, the True Understanding of the Economy and Safety Act, or TRUE Safety Act for short, was introduced Oct. 30 by Rep. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y., Rep. Tom Rice, R-S.C., and Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, and referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, of which all three initial sponsors are members. "Concerns have been raised that the new rules cause more congestion during peak morning travel and could push drivers to be more aggressive during the hours they do spend on the road." - U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y. The bill would put the new restart provision on hold, require an independent assessment by the U.S. Government Accountability Office of the methodology used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in conducting its required field study of the 34-hour restart provision and delay possible reimplementation until six months after submittal to Congress of the GAO study. "Concerns have been raised that the new rules cause more congestion during peak morning travel and could push drivers to be more aggressive during the hours they do spend on the road," Rep. Hanna said in an Oct. 31 statement. "This rule could cost businesses and consumers billions of dollars, and it is plausible that it will actually decrease safety on the roads." The statement cited an American Federal Update - continued on page 19 2 Intermodal Insights | December 2013 http://www.intermodal.org http://www.intermodal.org http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FHWA-2013-0050-0001 http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FHWA-2013-0050-0001

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - December 2013

Contents

Insights - December 2013