Opinion: Doublespeak Spoken There

By John Downing

President

Freight Capital

This Opinion piece appears in the June 1 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

I find it very odd that when Washington needs something from the people, they talk about family, but when the people need something from the government, they talk about business. This kind of duality of conflicting agendas contradicts reason and confuses everyone. Even if it is unintentional, it smacks of doublespeak.

Here’s an example of unintended doublespeak: The federal government demands that trucks be more fuel efficient and have better emission controls, but state governments are planning to add toll roads — a lot of them. Because changes in speed created by traffic at tollbooths would reduce fuel efficiency, it seems that in their haste to acquire new revenue, the states are making federal guidelines hard to achieve.

Here’s another one: Connecticut, New Jersey and the District of Columbia are poised to fine drivers who don’t clear snow and ice from vehicle rooftops. The Connecticut General Assembly’s Transportation Committee approved the snow-removal measure, but others say it is loaded with “unintended consequences” and risks. No one is quite sure who would be responsible or financially liable for the snow clearing or under which conditions it would be safe to perform, but the legislators approved it anyway.

Here’s another instance of unintended doublespeak: The Environmental Protection Agency recently launched a program granting fleet owners up to 25% of a new vehicle’s cost for every diesel truck replaced by a diesel-electric hybrid or one powered by another alternative fuel, such as liquefied natural gas. That program sounds great until you read the small print — the offer began March 17 and ended April 27. The intent was good, but the window to apply was too tiny — and now is shut.

Also in emissions doublespeak, California wants to mandate one of the nation’s strictest regulations on vehicle emissions, and 13 other states and the District of Columbia want to adopt those standards, as well. This proposal sparked a classic partisan flip-flop: In 2008, the Bush administration’s EPA blocked California from setting its own emission standards — and within his first 100 days in office, President Obama ordered the agency to reconsider.

Finally, international trade offers a real dilly: In 1995, scarcely a year after entering into the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, President Clinton imposed a moratorium on cross-border trucking. In 2001, President Bush tried to lift that ban when arbitrators ruled it was illegal, saying Mexico was entitled to damages in the form of tariffs on products coming from the United States.

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched a pilot program to test cross-border trucking. In March 2009, Congress ordered the pilot program shut down and — surprise! — Mexico responded with nearly $2.4 billion in tariffs.

All this NAFTA maneuvering has been going on for nearly 15 years, and we still have to figure out a way to conduct business with a country that is worth billions of dollars to the U.S. trucking industry.

As for today, even though we are cheered by the economic stimulus grant of $27.5 billion for highway infrastructure, there is no package to stop the falling freight rates and volumes that are dragging fleets down with them, largely because of difficulties getting access to credit.

Though our government spends billions of dollars to prop up toxic banks, the transportation industry — the lifeblood of commerce in this country — is left to consolidate or liquidate.

That’s where doublespeak, unintended or otherwise, goes from ridiculous to cruel. And one of the biggest problems is that it’s drowning out any voices coming from independent trucking businesses and owner-operators.

If ever there was an argument for joining American Trucking Associations or the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association right now, this is it. One trucker’s voice is easily muffled, but thousands of truckers joined together are called voters, and that gets government’s attention.

Even if you are not the type of person who becomes involved in the politics of transportation, you need to know the issues and opportunities that directly affect your future.

Tough times call for action, and only those who survive the current credit crunch will come out on the other side, where prosperity and the next big upswing surely wait. With the current noxious brew of falling freight rates, higher letters of credit and tougher terms for lines of credit, many fleet owners are wondering how to avoid bankruptcy or acquisition by another carrier.

Get involved and let your voice be heard. Cut through all the conflicting information, unintentional jabberwocky and corporate maneuvering and find out which course is best for your business.

It’s time not just to figure out how to survive the economic freeze but how to position yourself to thrive when the inevitable thaw occurs. Contact your local trucking association for information about programs and benefits that can help you, both now and later.

Lucky for you, no doublespeak is spoken there.

Freight Capital, Carlsbad, Calif., specializes in transportation factoring and is allied with many state and national trucking associations, including American Trucking Associations.