Insights - September 2017 - 33

EXPO EDUCATION SESSIONS - from page 31
tax, what might ultimately happen with infrastructure, the status of
modal agency appointments, and a variety of other regulatory and
legislative issues relevant to the intermodal industry.

Clearing the Air About CAAP 3.0 - Geraldine
Knatz, University of Southern California
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach just released an update to their Clean Air Action Plan, originally adopted in 2006. This
update proposes further reductions in emissions and resolves
to make a transition to zero-emission technologies. Industry and
community stakeholders have complained that the update has
inadequate information on funding, feasibility and cost-effectiveness. Motor carriers are worried about the affordability and
availability of zero-emission trucks. All stakeholders, including the
ports, recognize that implementing the latest update will be very
hard and very costly. Intermodal EXPO 2017 coincides with the
public review of the plan. This session provides an opportunity to
listen and interact with panel members representing all viewpoints.

Reshaping the Caribbean Transshipment
Triangle - Alan Murphy, SeaIntel
This presentation will examine how deep-sea liner connections
to the Caribbean have developed in recent years, and the challenges faced by Caribbean transshipment ports and short-sea/
feeder operators in a world of mega-carriers, mega-vessels and
mega-alliances. The session will explore developments in vessel
deployment, port pairs, transit times, schedule reliability, service
consistency and blank sailings.

High Visibility: Safety and Intermodal
Operations - Vernon Prevatt, CSX
We have a terrific panel lined up, leaders from across the
industry to discuss how their organizations elevate and integrate
safety into daily operations. While there are differences in operations between ports, terminals and yards, the importance of safety
is something we all have in common. This session provides an opportunity to share what works best from across the industry with
respect to training, safety planning and facilities layout. Attendees
can expect lively discussion on safety performance metrics, training practices, safety planning and leadership.

The Trump Administration's Infrastructure Plan
- Gene Seroka, Port of Los Angeles
President Trump has placed infrastructure investment among
his highest priorities, announcing his intention to achieve $1 trillion
of investment in infrastructure. In May, the Trump administration

released a budget that included $200 billion for infrastructure over
10 years and a set of principles that emphasize targeted investments, leveraging non-federal funding, and innovation (both in the
project and in project delivery). These principles were recently incorporated into the new USDOT INFRA grant program. With this as
a backdrop, we will look at how our industry can use this current
policy discussion to build on past successes in freight infrastructure investment.

The Promise and Perils of Autonomous
Technology in Intermodal - Jason Seidl, Cowen
Autonomous vehicles that once seemed like an elusive vision
are coming closer to reality in intermodal. The test of platooned
vehicles at the Port of Los Angeles and the increasingly intensive
testing of autonomous trucks around the world, including a famous Colorado beer truck run, are signs that the technology is onrushing. The questions now are how and when will they fit into the
intermodal landscape, and what changes will they actually bring
about in the name of efficiency and productivity improvements?

Unlocking the Untapped Mid-Range Intermodal
Market - Larry Gross, Gross Transportation
Consulting
The fact is that there is a donut hole when you look at length
of haul for intermodal. It's a bipolar distribution which has a bulge
at the 750 mile to 1,000 mile range and another at 2,000 to 2,500.
That is not at all like what the distribution would be when you
look at the length of haul for intercity trucks. That is a smoother
curve, tapering in a fairly smooth arc to longer length of haul. As
the railroads work to increase their penetration for intermodal,
there is tremendous potential in the 1,000 to 2,000-mile range,
which theoretically should have more profitability. This session
will look at why this situation exists and how we might fix it.

Uh Oh! Do Recoveries Die of Old Age? -
Erica Phillips, Wall Street Journal
The importance of economic growth to intermodal has been
documented for years. Today's unusual economic recovery - the
longest since World War II - has been in progress for more than
eight years. This has raised significant questions about the timing of the next economic downturn. The growth likely was less
than many hoped, as the industry awaits the Trump administration's long-promised growth bump. The experts on this panel
will offer their assessment of how the economy in the future will
affect intermodal, which has been able to achieve notable, recent
volume growth.

September 2017 | Intermodal Insights

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - September 2017