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Released: June 22, 2010
LaHood Boosts Funds for Freight Rail
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the Obama administration is spending money on freight rail projects to bolster its push for high-speed intercity passenger rail. LaHood said the department has made significant investments in the Class One railroads and is proud of the progress made. He said that the "lion's share" of DOT's $1.5 billion in competitive stimulus grants went to the freight rail system to help them to improve their infrastructure, in part to boost the Obama administration's efforts to create a high-speed passenger rail network.
Despite the rail push, LaHood went out of his way to say DOT's investments in rail and ports and other projects "do not favor one mode of transportation over another," as quoted in Transport Topics. "They strike a new balance that maximizes the efficiency of freight transportation through whatever means are best for a given area, whether it's trucking, rail, ships or barges." While LaHood has made recent comments suggesting there is support and appreciation of the trucking industry's role in the U.S. economy, others have raised concern over recent comments that suggest there could be an effort in Washington to favor other modes over trucking.
View NASSTRAC's recently released Position Paper on this issue.
Diesel Prices End Decline, Increase 3.3 Cents
The nation's average retail diesel price climbed 3.3 cents last week, to $2.961 per gallon, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported to NASSTRAC. After a five-week fall that brought diesel prices down from $3.127 per gallon on May 10 to $2.928 early last week, this week's surge reflects growing concern about supplies as well as a season up-tick at the beginning of summer. Diesel is now 94.4 cents above its low point of $2.017 in March 2009. Prices actually fell nine-tenths of a cent in the Rocky Mountains to $2.98 per gallon, but that was the sole decline in a region this week. The lowest average price was on the Gulf Coast, where an increase of 3.4 cents had drivers paying $2.908 per gallon. In California, prices increased 5.7 cents to $3.125 per gallon.
Container Imports Seen Rising 15 Percent in June
Import cargo volume through the nine busiest container gateways in the U.S. is expected to post a year-to-year increase of 15 percent in June, and may rise by double digits into this fall, reported NRF and Hackett Associates in their monthly Global Port Tracker. The increases, aided by soft comparisons with last year's weak volumes, come despite continuing concern about economic conditions and consumer demand. U.S. ports surveyed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.15 million 20-foot-equivalent units of containers in April. That was up 7 percent from March and up 16 percent from April 2009. It was the fifth consecutive month to show a year-to-year improvement after December broke a 28-month streak of declines, according to the Journal of Commerce.
Do You Have A Plan To Meet The 100% Air Cargo Screening Mandate?
Effective August 2010, 100% of air cargo flown on passenger aircraft (PAX) must be screened according to a Congressional mandate. Unscreened cargo will not be permitted to fly on PAX, potentially leading to logjams at airports and an economic shift as that cargo moves to alternate methods for transport (all-cargo air, maritime, rail, truck, etc). NASSTRAC recently hosted a webcast to learn critical information for shippers and carriers alike to understand the requirements, featuring officials from the Department of Homeland Security (TSA).
View NASSTRAC's free webcast on-demand about the benefits of TSA's program, the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP).
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