month duration is too short a time for
those involved in the process, especially
states with complex highway projects that
often take years to complete. This could be
especially true for freight projects, as many
states will have to climb a steep learning
curve.
The House’s original proposal called for a
six-year timetable at a funding level of $230
billion. But that gave way to the shorter, less-expensive version pushed by the Senate.
“It has been 30 months since we have had
a true, long-term highway funding bill,” Bill
Graves, president and CEO of the American
Trucking Associations (ATA), said the day
of the signing.
“While we would have preferred a bill
covering a period longer than 27 months
and with greater funding, this is a major
step in the right direction,” said Thomas J.
Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce.
Given that the program comes up for
renewal in just two years, the call has grown
louder to find other sources of long-term
funding outside of the federal excise tax on
motor fuels. So-called gas taxes haven’t
been raised since 1993, and the bill calls for
current levels to be maintained until 2015.
Over the years, vehicles of all types have
become more fuel-efficient, and highway
users are traveling longer between fill-ups.
This means less revenue for the highway
trust fund, which relies almost exclusively
on fuel-tax receipts to fund projects. To
maintain proper funding amid lower revenue levels, Congress has been forced over
the past few years to redirect $35 billion of
general funds into the trust fund.
To avoid a continuation of this scenario,
the new law mandates the unusual step of
setting aside $18.8 billion from general
funds and deploying it to the trust fund at
the start of the current cycle.
Donohue warned that fuel taxes alone
can no longer fund the nation’s long-term
infrastructure needs. “The bigger challenge
lies ahead—devising a predictable, sustainable, and growing source of dedicated, user-fee-based funding to ensure we have adequate resources to maintain the world’s
greatest infrastructure system for decades to
come,” he said. ;
go figure …
30%
The share of large shippers’ truck transportation spending controlled by freight brokers. The figure shows that brokers still
have only a small share of shippers’ truck transport dollars.
SOURCE: MORGAN STANLEY & CO., JUNE 2012 SHIPPER SURVEY
Drake to receive CSCMP Distinguished
Service Award
Ann M. Drake, chairman and CEO of DSC Logistics Inc., has been
named by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals
(CSCMP) as recipient of the group’s 2012 Distinguished Service
Award.
CSCMP presents the annual award—its highest honor—to an individual who has made significant contributions to the art and science
of supply chain and logistics management. Drake will be the 47th
professional to receive the award since it was inaugurated in 1965 as
a tribute to John Drury Sheahan, a logistics consultant and partner in
the consulting firm that bore his name.
Drake will receive the award during CSCMP’s Annual Global
Conference in Atlanta in October.
“Ann Drake is a person who is continually making contributions to
the supply chain discipline, giving of herself to the people in the
industry,” Rick Blasgen, CSCMP president and CEO, said in a state-
ment. “She is the epitome of what the Distinguished Service Award
embodies—a leader, a mentor, a pioneer, and an extraordinary,
energetic ambassador for the logistics and supply chain manage-
ment professions.”
Drake became CEO of the Des Plaines, Ill.-based third-party logis-
tics firm DSC Logistics in 1994. Since then, DSC has grown to be one
of the nation’s leading supply chain management companies, with a
nationwide network of integrated logistics and supply chain man-
agement operations.
Earlier this year, she received the Alumni Merit Award from
Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and in
2009, she was named Industry Leader of the Year by the Illinois
Institute of Technology. Recently, she agreed to serve as a strategy
leader in transportation and logistics for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s
World Business Chicago Economic Growth Plan.
In 2009, Drake was named a DC VELOCITY Rainmaker. In an interview
with DC VELOCITY at that time, Drake talked about the growing importance of supply chain management in global business operations.
“There are so many ways to improve supply chain responsiveness, so
much opportunity to do it better and become integrated with everything a company does. It is global in scope. It is as important as it
gets,” she said. ;
