Insights - January 2014 - (Page 2)

Contents Federal Update ..................................................2 Freight Reports .................................................6 Port News .........................................................4 2011-2013 Yearly Traffic Totals ..........................7 People in the News .........................................10 In Brief ............................................................12 Welcome New Members .................................14 2013 Article Index by Subject ..........................16 Intermodal Calendar .......................................16 Cover image © Depositphotos.com 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 2 Intermodal Insights | January 2014 Federal Update Bills Seek Changes to Federal Fuel Tax Indicative of the diverse proposals for reforming surface transportation infrastructure funding, two measures being mulled on Capitol Hill aim to slice federal fuel taxes to a fraction of current levies, while a competing bill looks to significantly increase those taxes. Companion Senate and House bills propose to greatly reduce federal diesel and gasoline taxes while allowing states to retain most of the money from such levies instead of having the funds routed through the federal Highway Trust Fund, as is current policy. S. 1702, sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, was referred to the Senate Finance Committee, and H.R. 3486, sponsored by Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga., was referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Highways and Transit Subcommittee. Each was introduced Nov. 14 and dubbed the Transportation Empowerment Act. The bills propose to cut the pergallon federal tax on diesel to 5 cents from 24.4 cents and that on gasoline to 3.7 cents from 18.4 cents. Meanwhile, on Dec. 4, U.S. Rep Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., offered H.R. 3636, the Update, Promote and Develop America's Transportation Essentials Act. The UPDATE Act calls for phasing in a 15-cents-a-gallon federal tax increase on diesel and gasoline over the next three years to provide increased transportation infrastructure funding. It was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. Go to www.govtrack.us/congress/ bills/113/s1702, www.govtrack.us/ congress/bills/113/hr3486 and www. govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3636 to track S. 1702, H.R. 3486 and H.R. 3636, respectively. Measures Address Freight Rail Safety U.S. Rep. Robert "Rob" Andrews, D-N.J., introduced a pair of bills that aim to improve freight rail safety. H.R. 3551, the Railway Inspection and Transparency Act, introduced Nov. 20, calls for regular independent inspections of all rail bridges, signals and switches, while H.R. 3552, the Emergency Response Improvement Act, looks to establish a clearer chain of command following major emergencies. H.R. 3551 was referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, while H.R. 3552 was sent to its Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee. Visit www.govtrack.us/congress/ bills/113/hr3551 and www.govtrack.us/ congress/bills/113/hr3552 to track the respective measures. Federal Update - continued on page 11 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3551 http://www.Depositphotos.com http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3551 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3552 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3552 http://www.cushingtrans.com http://www.intermodal.org http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1702 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1702 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/hr3486 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3636 http://www.cushingtrans.com http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3636 http://www.intermodal.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - January 2014

Contents

Insights - January 2014