Economics Make Bigger Trucks a Western Imperative
SAN FRANCISCO — Pressure is building for increased trucking productivity, especially in the West, according to participants at the Western Highway Institute’s annual meeting.
While speakers during the American Trucking Associations affiliate’s conference, held Dec. 5 to 7, warned that economic growth, a shortage of truck drivers and worsening highway congestion make greater truck sizes and weights an increasingly attractive option, they had differing views on how to improve productivity.
Improving productivity, especially by using bigger and heavier trucks, has been a topic of concern to members of the institute since it was founded in 1947 to provide advocacy and research to western carriers. The group, comprised of trucking companies, industry suppliers and state associations, offers information on engineering and research on truck sizes and weights, vehicle performance standards and taxation.
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 |  TT file photo |
| For Roadway Express, greater productivity means wider use of triples to handle growing freight volumes. |
Some less-than-truckload carriers support greater use of triple-trailer combinations; carriers handling intermodal traffic want the ability to run their own trains; and some truckload operators want to routinely haul loads greater than the federal limit of 80,000 pounds.
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