Three Axles and a Cloud of Shippers

ANAHEIM, Calif.— Vehicle sizes and weights are a contentious topic as old as trucking. But at an Oct. 12 session on carrier issues during the Council of Logistics Management's annual conference, one trucking leader took the opportunity to explain why adding one axle to trailers would boost productivity and be easier on roads.

The tridem setup for trailers has been proved less damaging to pavement than the standard tandem, even when carrying an extra 10,000 pounds, "but the idea has gone nowhere," complained Donald J. Schneider, president of Schneider National Inc.

Depending on how far apart they are spread, three axles can legally carry 42,500 pounds or more under federal rules. But the weight cap of 80,000 pounds for a five-axle tractor-trailer makes a sixth axle irrelevant. The tridem would become economically feasible, and gentler for the road, he said, if the cap went to 90,000 pounds.

He said the National Industrial Transportation League now endorses tridem trailer axles, but noted that it will probably take an act of Congress that increases gross vehicle weight limits to make the tridem concept realistic for trucking.

New interest among shippers in what the tridem can provide may revive the seemingly stillborn idea. Mr. Schneider suggested that is where the lobbying strength could come from to convince Congress to do something.

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