Transportation
Quarterly is
published by the
Eno Transportation Foundation
Eno
Transportation Foundation
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(202) 879-4700
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Editor:
Jack Gribben
GOODS MOVEMENT READINGS
What aspects of goods movement are people discussing in the media and other forums? Here's a quick look at, and links to, recent writings on the topic:
In his piece recounting some of the lessons learned from South Carolina's nearly two decade-long struggle to expand the Port of Charleston, Steven Pearlstein writes for the Washington Post that "while the problem of freight bottlenecks is a national one, the steps needed to relieve them must be taken by communities that don't want the increased traffic, railroads and truckers that benefit from high freight rates that come with tight capacity, and labor unions that see job losses in new productivity-enhancing technology." (Washington Post, 3/29/06, Page D01)
Freight congestion on the nation's highways is the topic of an October 2005 white paper prepared for the Federal Highway Administration, Initial Assessment of Freight Bottlenecks on Highways. Estimating truck hours of delay for 14 types of highway truck bottlenecks, the authors found that "the direct user cost of these bottlenecks is about $7.8 billion per year."
Meanwhile, the container boom continues on U.S. railways. Reporting on the increasing flow of business at Logistics Park Chicago, an international hub operated by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, Nick Carey of Reuters says that, with container use up sharply as U.S. manufacturing moves to China and other developing nations, "intermodal volume rose 6.4 percent to 11.7 million units in 2005 from 11 million in the previous year." (Reuters, 4/26/06)
Are inland waterways a viable goods movement alternative? The European Union thinks so, and is looking to boost transportation on inland water routes to reduce congestion elsewhere. Chris Smyth of the Financial Times reports that "the [European] Commission believes there is enough spare capacity on Europe's 36,000 kilometers of waterways to accommodate much of the one-third growth in freight traffic forecast by 2015." (Financial Times, 4/16/06)
TQ
FLASHBACK, 1976: THE QUEST FOR A
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION POLICY
Francis C. Turner's over 40-year career with the Bureau of Public Roads was marked by the acclaim he received for his contributions to both national and international highway programs. In 1976, Turner was just a few years into his retirement when he shared with TQ readers his thoughts on what today remains an elusive goal: the creation of a national transportation policy.
"[The
national transportation policy] must continue to provide the personal
mobility that Americans need and want; but in doing so it must achieve
a substantial reduction in the present rate of consumption of fossil fuels,
reductions in air polluting exhaust emissions, decreased street congestion,
and minimum demands for private and public funding, both for initial capital
and operating costs.
"It is very important [in developing the policy] to apply the yardstick
of cost effectiveness to the several modes that constitute the total system.
This would dispose of the notion that all highways and automobile transportation
are bad, and only rail transit systems are good for every situation. All
schemes should be examined for cost effectiveness and service capability
to move both people and goods." - Taken from "The Future of
the Highway Program," by Francis C. Turner. TQ, January 1976.