Underinvestment in Freight Infrastructure Will Hurt Economy, Schneider CEO Says
WASHINGTON — The country's freight transportation network must be modernized and expanded to handle the projected increase in freight volume, Schneider's top executive told a Senate panel Feb. 15.
"Underinvestment in our nation's surface transportation infrastructure produces inefficiencies in the way we move goods, wastes fuel and increases operating costs. Current freight bottlenecks and interstate congestion already challenge our operations," Schneider CEO Christopher Lofgren said at a Commerce subcommittee hearing.
Schneider ranks No. 7 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
"With U.S. freight volume anticipated to increase 45% by the year 2040, the system must be updated and prepared for this surge. Otherwise, our environment and economy will suffer," Lofgren added.
The subcommittee's leaders, Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), emphasized that fellow policymakers should advance long-term funding measures aimed at modernizing critical freight corridors.
The trucking industry is among the leaders in the freight sector sounding the alarm on the status of the nation's infrastructure. Surface transportation networks deemed deficient or obsolete contribute to congestion, according to stakeholders reviewing the issue.
The American Transportation Research Institute found that in 2014 highway congestion cost the trucking industry about $50 billion.
