Top Transport Execs Tell Washington: Fix Infrastructure Funding Now
ORLANDO, Fla. — Executives from four of the largest U.S. transportation companies have a blunt, direct message to the Washington political establishment: do what’s needed to support infrastructure improvements now or risk real damage to the economy and competitiveness.
“There has to be a strategy to help the shipping and consuming public,” said Jack Holmes, president of UPS Freight, the less-than-truckload division of the company that tops the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers. He spoke at the Nasstrac meeting here, joined by others who represent every facet of the trucking industry. He emphasized the need to make Congress and others in Washington understand the competitive implications of not addressing road funding needs.
“We have to get our elected officials to do their job,” said Henry Maier, president of No. 2 FedEx Corp.’s Ground unit. “The number one cause of tire failures is potholes. Commerce drives the economy of the U.S. “, he said, and the lack of dependable infrastructure funding is “a huge drag on our economy right now.”
He cited the fact that multiple states have had to postpone major projects in an environment where transport spending has been handled through 32 temporary spending actions since 2009.
“We are hearing nothing coming out of Washington that says ‘we are going to deal with this’.”
CEO Judy McReynolds of the for-hire TT 100 No. 13 ArcBest Corp. targeted the particular need to address the most congested truck routes.
Derek Leathers, president of the for-hire TT 100 No. 14 Werner Enterprises, identified another issue that needs attention.
American business lobbyists in Washington need to be convinced to weigh in on infrastructure issues.
He said that it was a bit surprising when he asked shippers to get their company lobbyists to help convince political leaders of infrastructure’s importance.
He related that they said “we would like to do that but we have a policy that [lobbying] is just for our specific industry.”
He said transport companies need to illustrate the strong connection between the shippers’ individual industries and the supply chain that moves their products.
“I can’t see how [infrastructure issues] can be extricated from the issues your own company pursues,” he said.
Maier and Holmes offered the nationwide introduction of 33-foot trailers as one step that could simultaneously improve productivity, add competitiveness for U.S. businesses and reduce the driver shortage. The driver issue would be addressed by reducing the number of trucks needed to move the same amount of freight, using trailers with 18% more cubic capacity than industry standard 28-foot units.
“This could be done very simply,” Maier said, if Congress can approve legislation to allow the use of the longer trailers.
