NITL Calls For Weight Compromise

SAN FRANCISCO — The leader of the nation’s largest shippers’ group is calling for a trade-off between the railroad and trucking industries. In exchange for railroad’s support of heavier big rigs, trucking companies would move more freight via intermodal lines.

That was a concept Ed Emmett, president of the National Industrial Transportation League, threw out during his keynote speech at the annual conference for the Intermodal Association of North America.

"It would increase revenue and intermodal movement," he told the audience Aug. 23.

His comments are the latest in a series of speeches on railroad and truck issues, reflecting the league’s increased emphasis on surface transportation now that its five-year battle to deregulate ocean shipping is largely won.

"Now that the Ocean Shipping Reform Act is done, we’re looking for something to do," Emmett said, building on a theme signaled at NITL’s annual meeting in November and repeated during a National Press Club speech in July 7-5, p. 20).

Despite NITL’s active support of increased trucking productivity, Emmett said railroads are reluctant to change their position.

"They are absolutely paranoid about the issue," he said. "The truth is there is plenty of freight to go around. Railroad opposition to trucking productivity increases is a symptom of the industry’s defensive posture."

Railroads have been battling motor carriers over the erosion of train-borne freight for the past decade or so. The federal Commodity Flow Survey, released earlier this year, found that trucking handled just under 70% of the 11.6 billion tons of freight moved in 1997. It also showed that truck companies ton-miles was up 26% from 1993, compared with a 5.4% increase for railroads.

Shippers are growing more frustrated with the lack of competition and poor service offered by railroads, Emmett said.