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Arlington, Va. – U.S. trucks would be more fuel efficient and emit less greenhouse gases if they were more productive like trucks in Europe, Canada and Australia, according to the preliminary results of a multi-nation study. These findings reaffirm results from 2008 using the American Transportation Research Institute’s higher productivity vehicle model. As countries around the world prepare for increasing freight volumes, many have already instituted programs that increase truck size and weight and have seen great productivity and environmental gains, with continuing improvements in safety.

At a recent conference hosted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, truck industry experts from across the globe found that the U.S. is lagging in several truck productivity and sustainability categories when compared with international counterparts. Current U.S. truck size and weight regulations serve as a limiting factor, preventing trucks from utilizing the full potential of our infrastructure. Increasing truck size and weight standards to align more closely with international standards would improve truck productivity and the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon output.

“Existing restrictions on truck size and weight are unreasonably low and harm the U.S.,” said Bill Graves, President and CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA). “We must raise our standards to maximize the productivity of our transportation system if we’re to remain competitive in global markets.”

ATA supports allowing States to authorize more productive vehicles to operate on the Nation’s highways, consistent with sound engineering standards, improved safety and cost responsibility. To address the potential for greater productivity, ATA has proposed a program to allow 6-axle vehicles to carry 97,000 pounds in states that agree to permit them; allow states to permit 33-foot trailer combinations; harmonize the use of longer combination vehicles in western sates and expand their use where appropriate; and allow a 10 percent increase in auto-hauler weights to account for today’s heavier vehicles.

Operating more productive vehicles would allow companies to deliver goods while making fewer trips, resulting in less traffic congestion, cleaner air, less costly freight transportation and safer highways.

The study will be released in October by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, located in Paris. In the meantime, UMTRI will post some of the conference findings and slides from the presentation by the OECD on the conference Web site: www.magictrucks.org.

The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.
8/6/2009des
  

Arlington, Va. – The American Trucking Associations (ATA) today told the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works that climate change legislation would impose significant costs on American consumers.

In his statement on behalf of ATA, Ray Kuntz, Chairman of ATA’s Executive Committee and Immediate Past Chairman of the associations, said that any substantial cost increases imposed directly or indirectly on trucks by climate change legislation will curtail the delivery of vital consumer goods across the nation such as food, medicine, and clothing.

“Constraining the country’s freight delivery system would change our way of life for the worse by significantly increasing the cost of everything we buy,” said Kuntz, who is Chairman and CEO of Watkins and Shepard Trucking, based in Helena, Montana.

A one-cent increase in the average price of diesel costs the trucking industry an additional $390 million in fuel expenses. Petroleum suppliers indicate that climate change legislation could increase the cost of gasoline by 77 cents per gallon and 88 cents per gallon for diesel fuel. As trucking companies struggle with already miniscule margins, additional costs for fuel would be passed on to shippers of goods and materials and ultimately to consumers.

In addition to increased fuel costs, Kuntz addressed six other issues in his testimony relating directly to climate change legislation and the trucking industry:
 
• Climate change legislation must address the need to improve highway infrastructure to reduce carbon output

• Carbon oversight markets must carefully be monitored and transparent to prevent excessive speculation • Trucking needs to be addressed differently than passenger vehicles because trucks are not discretionary fuel users

• State transportation emissions reduction plans must not impede the delivery of goods

• Federal regulations must preempt regional, state and local carbon laws to prevent a patchwork jumble of laws that would impede transportation efficiency

• Oil refiners should receive appropriate free carbon allowances for fuel production to help offset significant price increases for refined products

Kuntz serves on ATA’s Sustainability Task Force, which developed a progressive sustainability agenda that will reduce fuel consumption by 86 billion gallons and CO2 emissions by 900 million tons for all vehicles over 10 years by: setting governors on trucks manufactured after 1992 to limit speeds to no more than 65 mph and reducing the national speed limit to 65 mph for all vehicles; reducing engine idling; reducing congestion by improving highways; using more productive truck combinations; supporting national fuel economy standards for trucks; and increasing fuel efficiency by encouraging participation in the U.S. EPA SmartWaySM Transport Partnership Program.

These reasonable measures will bring real results for reducing the trucking industry’s carbon footprint, while at the same time further reducing other regulated emissions, enhancing safety, helping to achieve energy independence, and keeping the nations economic engine churning.

For ATA’s entire sustainability report with detailed explanations, visit www.trucksdeliver.org.

Click here to read the entire testimony from Ray Kuntz.

The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States

8/6/2009des
  

Arlington, Va. – The results of the Texas Transportation Research Institute’s (TTI) 2009 Urban Mobility Report show that it’s time to get serious about highway infrastructure investment, said the American Trucking Associations today.

 

The TTI report, released today, indicates that traffic congestion costs the U.S. $87.2 billion annually, more than $750 per traveler. Economic costs of traffic congestion have increased 63 percent over the past decade. Despite declining traffic volumes, caused by a historic economic downturn, Americans still waste more than 2.8 billion gallons of fuel each year as a result of traffic congestion. Motorists also waste 4.2 billion hours annually, or one full work week per traveler.

 

While public transportation could supplement highway capacity expansion on certain corridors in densely populated areas, highway improvements are the only viable, cost-effective solution to addressing congestion in the vast majority of U.S. communities.  The TTI report found that 75 percent of travel time and congestion cost savings produced by public transportation systems were concentrated in just six cities, with New York City capturing half of the nationwide benefits.

 

A robust investment in transportation infrastructure is the most effective way to alleviate our nation’s looming congestion problems. We must invest our limited resources wisely by focusing specifically on traffic ‘chokepoints’ that suffer the worst from congestion. Greater highway capacity will aide passenger mobility and help stimulate our economy through improved freight productivity. According to the TTI report, 12,676 new lane-miles of highways and roads are needed to keep up with congestion.

 

While federal economic stimulus funds for transportation infrastructure have already injected an additional $16 billion into highway and street projects, the boost is insufficient compared to the investment needs. IHS Global Insight concluded that real spending will contract 5.5 percent in 2009.

 

The federal fuel tax remains the most cost-effective way to fund essential congestion-reducing infrastructure projects. Tolling and public-private partnerships cannot match the efficiency and equitability of fuel taxes. The collection of fuel taxes costs only a few cents on the dollar, while versions of tolling can cost one-third of the revenue collected.

 

The 2009 Urban Mobility Report can be found at http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/.

 

The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.

8/6/2009des
  

ATA’s advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index improved 1.5 percent in July, although June’s reduction was revised from 1.4 percent to 1.6 percent. This latest increase raised the SA index from 108.3 (2000=100) in June to 110 in July.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 109.9 in July, down 5 percent from the previous month. 

Compared with July 2009, SA tonnage climbed 7.4 percent, which matched June’s increase and was the eighth consecutive year-over-year gain. So far this year, tonnage is up 6.7 percent compared with the same period in 2009. 

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that July’s data didn’t change his outlook for subdued tonnage growth in the months ahead. “The economy is slowing and truck freight tonnage has essentially gone sideways since April 2010,” he said. Despite the slowdown, Costello believes that tonnage will likely see some moderate gains for the second half of the year because the reduction in supply since the start of the recession means that even small improvements in tonnage will have a larger impact on the industry than in past.   

9/9/2010ATA’s advance seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index improved 1.5 percent in July, although June’s reduction was revised from 1.4 percent to 1.6 percent.