newsworthy
RENEWED FOCUS ON FREIGHT
The law establishes a national freight policy and requires
the Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop a
national freight strategic plan and a “primary freight network” out of 27,000 miles of existing roadways designated
as most critical to the movement of goods. It also gives
states financial incentives to develop freight-specific projects by increasing the federal government’s role in paying
for them.
Under the new law, if the physical path of a state’s freight
project is located on the interstate highway system, federal
funding for the project increases to 95 percent from 90 percent. For projects not located on the interstate system,
Washington’s share of the payment rises to 90 percent from
80 percent.
The law does not contain a separate freight section or
program that mandates federal funding. Rather, it leaves it
up to the states to make the case to the U.S. DOT that a proposal has enough freight-generating potential to justify
funding.
Freight-specific projects must meet certain eligibility
standards, but the criteria are fairly broad. Eligible projects
include railway-highway grade separation, geometric
improvements to interchanges and ramps, truck-only lanes,
improvements to intermodal connectors, and programs to
ease truck bottlenecks.
Leslie Blakey, CAGTC’s executive director, said the provi-
accolades
Third-party logistics company C.H.
Robinson Worldwide Inc. has been
named 2011 Non-Asset Based
Carrier of the Year by Anheuser-Busch. … Jim Malvaso has received
the Industrial Truck Association’s
Meritorious Service Award. This
award honors individuals who
have made significant contributions to the association
and the industrial truck industry in general. Malvaso
recently retired as chairman of Toyota Material Handling
North America. … Ceva Logistics has received Lenovo’s
Innovation and Operations Excellence Award for the second year in a row. … Toyota Material Handling U.S.A. Inc.
(TMHU) has earned recognition as a partner-level supplier for 2011 in the John Deere Achieving Excellence
Program. The partner-level status is one of Deere & Co.’s
highest supplier ratings. … RedPrairie Corp., a global supply chain and retail technology developer, announced
that 17 of the 25 brands ranked in Gartner’s 2012 Supply
Chain Top 25 are using RedPrairie solutions. Among the
17 are Cummins, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever. …
sions of the law incorporating more state involvement in
freight will build a “substantial bridge to a comprehensive
multimodal freight program” that will be created in future
infrastructure reauthorization cycles.
Blakey said few states today have the capabilities to plan
and analyze initiatives that support the movement of
goods. The bill provides the financial incentives for states to
elevate freight’s visibility and, ultimately, feed state projects
into a national freight network, she said.
James H. Burnley IV, who served as transportation secre-
tary in the Reagan administration and today heads the
transportation practice at Washington law firm Venable
LLP, said in an e-mail that the bill “will enhance freight
movements in the years to come.”
Burnley said the legislation streamlines the multiyear
process for project approvals and exempts from a full envi-
ronmental review requests to perform both routine and
emergency road repairs. The bill’s language will “make it
easier for states to build and maintain highways that can
accommodate the continuing growth in freight move-
ments,” he said.
“A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION”
Stakeholders, who a couple of months ago were resigned to
seeing no progress in 2012 on a long-term bill, were grateful that the needle had been moved so dramatically in such
a brief period. They even put aside concerns that a 27-
Roger Luna, vice president of sales for Averitt Express,
was named the 2012 NASSTRAC Associate Member of the
Year. The award is presented annually to an individual
from the service provider community who has shown
leadership, continued commitment to the industry, and
support of the association. ... The television show
“World’s Greatest! …” has recognized Lantech as the
“world’s greatest manufacturer of stretch wrapping
equipment.” … Choptank Freight Lines LLC was presented with a Platinum Award by Great Western Casualty Co.
as part of the 2011 National Safety Awards Program. …
Cardinal Health is a winner of the seventh annual
Performance Award and Diversity Award presented by
the Premier healthcare alliance. … Atlanta-based
woman-owned transportation and logistics company
Bennett International Group has been awarded the top
honor as 2012 Family Business of the Year in the large
business category by Cox Family Business Enterprise. …
Seko, a global provider of supply chain solutions, has
been included in the inaugural Sunday Times HSBC
International Fast Track 200, a listing of private British
companies with the fastest-growing international sales.
