Logistics Management - October 2011

inside• Trucking freight rate pressurebuilding as Peak Season nears• Court puts the brakes on Fed’spush for “black boxes”• USPS proposes changes toimprove bottom lineCongress agrees to extend federaltransit funding though MarchShort-term fix provides funding atcurrent levels, but the need for along-term bill remains.By Jeff Berman, Group News EditorWASHINGTON, D.C.—Fundingfor federal highway, transit, and highwaysafety will remain intact at currentlevels through March 31, 2012,with Congress passing H.R. 2887,The Surface and Air TransportationProgram Extension Act of 2011. Thismarks the eighth extension of federaltransit funding since the previoussix-year, $285 billion authorization(SAFETEA-LU) expired on September30, 2009.While this legislation clears theway for transportation projects tobe funded through March 2012,larger problems remain when itcomes to funding these efforts ona meaningful, long-term basis. Thefederal gasoline tax, which has beenat 18.4 cents for gasoline and 23.4cents for diesel and has not beenincreased since 1993, has served asthe primary funding mechanism fortransportation.“Most people in transportationwould agree that gasoline taxesneed to be increased…in orderto avoid the Highway Trust Fundbeing bankrupt,” said Leslie Blakey,executive director of the Coalition ofAmerica’s Gateways and Trade Corridors.“The schedule needs to beaccelerated,” she added. “The longtermstimulus effect of this wouldThe “American Jobs Act” would call for $50 billion to be allocated fortransportation spending and $10 billion for an infrastructure bank—whichPresident Obama has pushed for several times.more than offset the relatively minimaleconomic drag that an increasedfuel tax would have.”Along with the repeated call byfreight transportation stakeholdersto increase the gasoline tax hascome the vital need for a new surfacetransportation reauthorization, ratherthan the continued slate of shorttermextensions.Janet Kavinoky, vice president ofAmericans for Transportation MobilityCoalition and executive directorof Transportation and Infrastructurefor the United States Chamber ofCommerce, made this clear. “Now,Congress must turn to passage of amulti-year reauthorization measure,”said Kavinoky. “The longer it takesto pass a multi-year bill, the moreexpensive the problems are to solve.Highway and transit investmentsfacilitate national, regional, and localeconomic growth in the long term,and create direct jobs in the shortterm. The longer we wait, the longerthe United States forgoes theseopportunities.”Kavinoky added that a multi-yearreauthorization bill must reform andrefocus surface transportation policiesand programs so that Americansget the greatest return on highwayand transit investments.Investment in transportation infrastructurewas prominently mentionedOctober 2011 | WWW.LOGISTICSMGMT.COM Logistics Management 13