Manufacturers Highlight Freight, Trucking Productivity While Urging Passage of Highway Bill
The National Association of Manufacturers is urging transportation leaders to quickly advance a multiyear highway reauthorization bill that boosts investments in freight transportation, and trucking productivity.
“We hope that conferees will remain committed to freight transportation investments by ensuring a focus on these needed projects and programs that require dedicated resources,” the group wrote to the bill’s negotiators on Capitol Hill on Nov. 16.
“Manufacturers rely on the nation’s ports to move commerce and reach 95% of the world’s customers outside the U.S.,” the letter said.
The group also said it did not support an effort led by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) meant to use a long-term highway bill as a way to delay the approval of twin 33-foot trailers nationwide.
“This [Wicker] motion attempts to shut the door on progress and ignores data to support twin 33-foot trailers in more states than currently permitted,” they wrote.
Congressional transportation negotiators have scheduled a hearing Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. to update the public on the highway bill’s status. The hearing is available as a live webcast via transport.house.gov.
