Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Federal highway bill draws support from both Teamsters and ATA

$715 billion infrastructure funding bill passes House vote, now awaits action from Senate.

Capitoldome2018-1-scaled.jpg

The Teamsters labor union and the fleet owners’ trade group American Trucking Associations (ATA) rarely agree on matters of freight and transportation policy, but their interests aligned this week when they both praised Congress’ vote to pass the $715 billion “INVEST in America Act.”

The infrastructure bill, known formally as H.R.3684, won passage Thursday in the House of Representatives and now awaits Senate action on a comparable bill. The legislation is a transportation reauthorization and water infrastructure bill that invests in: roads, bridges, and safety ($343 billion); transit ($109 billion); passenger and freight rail ($95 billion); drinking water infrastructure & assistance ($117 billion); and wastewater infrastructure ($51.25 billion).


In a statement, ATA President and CEO Chris Spear encouraged the Senate to advance companion legislation this summer and pledged to support those investments. “By passing the INVEST in America Act, the House has taken a significant step toward enacting the kind of comprehensive infrastructure package our nation needs. The investments in this bill will enable the country to grow, not just economically, but they will improve safety and the environment,” Spear said in a release.

Among other improvements, the bill would focus on the estimated 47,000 bridges in the national highway system that are in need of substantial repair or replacement, according to a statement by U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), the chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

“We can lead again, like we did in the 60s, and the 70s, when our infrastructure was the envy of the world. We were number one, we're now number 13. And falling fast,” DeFazio said in a press conference. “We're investing one half of 1% of our GDP in infrastructure, China is investing six [and] other competitor nations are investing between three and four. We cannot afford to be absent from this debate anymore. States are trying to do it on their own. They can't do it on their own. This is a federal system. It's a federal problem. Its international competitiveness, it’s jobs, it’s manufacturing.”

The Teamsters also applauded the bill, although that group cited different benefits, saying the INVEST in America Act would reform the trucking sector by requiring all motor carriers to certify that they comply with all labor and safety laws prior to renewing or acquiring their registration with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). 

"The motor carrier accountability provision is a huge step forward in holding trucking and delivery companies, including Amazon's growing fleet, accountable for keeping workers safe," Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa said in a release. "Under this new legislation, Amazon, its Delivery Service Partners, and other trucking companies across the country, would be responsible for any labor law and workplace safety violations when they apply for their DOT registration."

According to the Teamsters, that provision also requires the DOT to formally study the correlation between compensation and safety in all trucking and delivery operations nationwide. "This is not only a victory for Teamsters, but for all drivers in the trucking and delivery industries. Our roads and communities will be safer thanks to this legislation,” Hoffa said.

Despite that support from different quarters of the transportation industry, the bill also has its detractors.

Trade groups representing fuel retailers and truckstops said they oppose the act for provisions they say undermine new investment in electric vehicle charging, according to a joint statement from NATSO, representing the nation’s truckstops and travel plazas, NACS, the National Association of Convenience Stores, and SIGMA: America’s Leading Fuel Marketers.

The groups said they all support increased investment in infrastructure, including alternatives to traditional motor fuel such as electric vehicle charging, hydrogen, and natural gas fueling. But they said the INVEST Act falls short in incentivizing private investment in those and other alternatives.

“NATSO is disappointed that we must reject a federal highway bill for the second time because it contains the same harmful provisions that will discourage the private sector from making investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure,” NATSO President and CEO Lisa Mullings said in a release. “NATSO wants to work with lawmakers to expand the market’s transition to alternative fuels, including EV charging. With a few key improvements to these provisions, NATSO and the entire retail fuel industry would otherwise be able to support this important legislation.”

Recent

More Stories

manufacturing job growth in US factories

Savills “cautiously optimistic” on future of U.S. manufacturing boom

The U.S. manufacturing sector has become an engine of new job creation over the past four years, thanks to a combination of federal incentives and mega-trends like nearshoring and the clean energy boom, according to the industrial real estate firm Savills.

While those manufacturing announcements have softened slightly from their 2022 high point, they remain historically elevated. And the sector’s growth outlook remains strong, regardless of the results of the November U.S. presidential election, the company said in its September “Savills Manufacturing Report.”

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

container ships at dock port of savannah

54 container ships now wait in waters off East and Gulf coast ports

The number of container ships waiting outside U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports has swelled from just three vessels on Sunday to 54 on Thursday as a dockworker strike has swiftly halted bustling container traffic at some of the nation’s business facilities, according to analysis by Everstream Analytics.

As of Thursday morning, the two ports with the biggest traffic jams are Savannah (15 ships) and New York (14), followed by single-digit numbers at Mobile, Charleston, Houston, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Baltimore, and Miami, Everstream said.

Keep ReadingShow less
EDGE 2024 diversity educational session

Diversifying your supply chain beyond China to minimize risk

Jason Kra kicked off his presentation at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) EDGE Conference on Tuesday morning with a question: “How do we use data in assessing what countries we should be investing in for future supply chain decisions?” As president of Li & Fung where he oversees the supply chain solutions company’s wholesale and distribution business in the U.S., Kra understands that many companies are looking for ways to assess risk in their supply chains and diversify their operations beyond China. To properly assess risk, however, you need quality data and a decision model, he said.

In January 2024, in addition to his full-time job, Kra joined American University’s Kogod School of Business as an adjunct professor of the school’s master’s program where he decided to find some answers to his above question about data.

Keep ReadingShow less
warehouse problem medical triage strategy

Medical triage inspires warehouse process fixes

Turning around a failing warehouse operation demands a similar methodology to how emergency room doctors triage troubled patients at the hospital, a speaker said today in a session at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)’s EDGE Conference in Nashville.

There are many reasons that a warehouse might start to miss its targets, such as a sudden volume increase or a new IT system implementation gone wrong, said Adri McCaskill, general manager for iPlan’s Warehouse Management business unit. But whatever the cause, the basic rescue strategy is the same: “Just like medicine, you do triage,” she said. “The most life-threatening problem we try to solve first. And only then, once we’ve stopped the bleeding, we can move on.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Preparing for the truckload market upswing

Preparing for the truckload market upswing

CSCMP EDGE attendees gathered Tuesday afternoon for an update and outlook on the truckload (TL) market, which is on the upswing following the longest down cycle in recorded history. Kevin Adamik of RXO (formerly Coyote Logistics), offered an overview of truckload market cycles, highlighting major trends from the recent freight recession and providing an update on where the TL cycle is now.

EDGE 2024, sponsored by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), is taking place this week in Nashville.

Keep ReadingShow less