DOT

Even though the Trump administration talked a pretty good game about implementing a national infrastructure plan to the tune of $1 trillion dollars, signs of actual action on this front have not inched forward, at least not yet. But that does not mean the wheels are not turning on the inexorable topic of transportation infrastructure funding, something that has been ongoing for literally years.

BMW’s collaboration with South Carolina Ports and Norfolk Southern creates a unique intermodal solution that eliminates truck moves, improves its sustainability efforts and subsequently spurs manufacturing efficiently in a growing region.

The White House’s budget blueprint, which was released in March, and the House Appropriations Committee’s proposed fiscal year 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill share a common theme: both clearly state that it’s time to say goodbye to “the tiger.”

The White House’s budget blueprint, which was released in March, and the House Appropriations Committee’s proposed fiscal year 2018 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development funding bill have a common theme in that both are clear in saying it is time to say goodbye to the tiger. Make that TIGER actually the acronym for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recover discretionary grant program.

While the White House has lofty aspirations with its proposed $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan, it looks like there may be some harsh budgetary realities to deal with first, considering the proposed cuts for the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) as per President Trump’s budget blueprint, which was released yesterday.

Given the scrutiny and spotlights being focused on nearly all Cabinet nominees made by President-elect Donald Trump, one nominee that will likely skate through her confirmation scheduled for tomorrow figures to be Trump’s pick for Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao.

According to widespread media reports, Elaine Chao, 63, who was deputy Transportation Secretary under George H.W. Bush and served all eight years in the cabinet of George W. Bush as the first Asian-American woman appointed to a cabinet post, is Trump’s choice as Transportation Secretary. She was Labor Secretary under the younger Bush.

A 30-day extension of the public comment period for the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s late August proposal calling for the requirement of electronic limiting of truck speeds was made official yesterday by the federal agencies.

While the ATA was initially somewhat receptive to the DOT proposal in late August, calling proposed rule as “a potential step forward for safety,” it seems to have changed its tune.

Over the past decade we’ve seen a major trend in regards to safety regulations for freight transport within the United States as well as for import and export shippers—that trend is the “international­ization” of rules and regulations.

The fed is hitting truckers with a barrage of costly regulations in an era of scant profits. Everything from emissions, training standards, electronic onboard recorders, fuel mileage standards and speed limiters are in play—and it’s only going cost shippers more.

Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx announced last week that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) want to propose equipping heavy-duty vehicles with devices that limit their speeds on U.S. roadways.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced their jointly finalized standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that will augment fuel efficiency and reduce carbon pollution.

The briefly considered merger of the Norfolk Southern (NS) and Canadian Pacific (CP) railroads is illustrative of the changes rail shippers should be watching for in both intermodal and bulk rail services.

According to the Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) study from BTS and FHWA, freight tons moving on the United States’ transportation network are pegged to grow 40 percent over the next three decades to 25 billion tons, with the value of freight expected to rise 92 percent to $37 trillion.