Mark Solomon joined DC VELOCITY as senior editor in August 2008, and was promoted to his current position on January 1, 2015. He has spent more than 30 years in the transportation, logistics and supply chain management fields as a journalist and public relations professional. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in Washington as a reporter for the Journal of Commerce, covering the aviation and trucking industries, the Department of Transportation, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he worked for Traffic World for seven years in a similar role. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Solomon ran Media-Based Solutions, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on February 3 approved a five-year, $260 billion bill to fund the nation's highway, transit, and safety programs, but turned back a proposal that would have made the biggest changes to commercial truck weight and size limits in 30 years.
The legislation was met with harsh words from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who told an online publication it was the "worst transportation bill" he's seen in decades.
The bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, was approved by a 29 to 24 vote. The vote was essentially split along party lines, with the Republican majority on the committee carrying the day. The legislation was introduced by the committee chairman, Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla). Rep. John J. Duncan (R-Tenn.) was the lone co-sponsor. The initial draft was the subject of hours of debate before it passed the committee in the wee hours of Feb. 3.
In a blow to shippers and motor carriers, the committee ordered a three-year study by the Transportation Research Board (TRB)—a body mostly consisting of consultants, academics, and engineers—into the feasibility of allowing single-trailer trucks with gross vehicle weights of up to 97,000 pounds to operate on the nation's interstate highways, as long as each truck was equipped with a sixth axle to maintain braking and handling characteristics at the higher weights.
The current federal weight limit is set at 80,000 pounds, though six states—Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island—allow six-axle trucks weighing up to 97,000 pounds on their portions of the interstate highway system. About 40 states allow vehicles weighing more than 80,000 pounds to operate on state roads.
The bill's initial draft would have also permitted 33-foot trailers to be operated in doubles formation, up from the current maximum of 28 feet for each trailer operating as a tandem. In addition, it would have allowed truckers to operate nationwide with triple-trailers up to 120 feet long.
Need for studies disputed
In a statement issued Thursday, the Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP), a group of 200 shippers and related groups advocating an increase in truck size and weight limits, said there is little sense in conducting another study into the safety issues surrounding truck weight reform. CTP noted that the committee asked TRB to study the same issue back in 1998 and the board endorsed the idea in a report issued four years later.
"Voluminous academic research and practical on-the-ground experience has proven that states should have the option to put more productive, six-axle trucks on interstates," said John Runyan, the coalition's executive director, in a statement.
Runyon said the increase in truck size and weight limits would help truckers meet the demands of the supply chain while reducing the number of truckloads, amount of diesel fuel, and number of vehicle miles necessary to do the job.
"Truck capacity has dropped by 16 percent since the recession started, and the 30-year-old federal vehicle weight limit compounds the problem by forcing many trucks to travel when they are only partially full," he said.
The American Trucking Associations, which represents the nation's major trucking companies, urged Congress to incorporate the size and weight change language in the legislation as it moves through the legislative process.
"There have already been hundreds of studies that show increasing truck productivity reduces truck miles traveled, which not only reduces accident risk, congestion, and emissions, but will also ultimately save money in reduced highway maintenance costs," said Bill Graves, the group's president and CEO, in a statement.
Victory for the rails
The language calling for the TRB study is a victory for the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the Teamsters union, and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), all of whom said the increase in size and weight limits would create undue safety risk, further damage the nation's deteriorating infrastructure, and put additional financial burdens on taxpayers, and would not create jobs as the bill's sponsors contend.
AAR, which has for years fought federal efforts to raise truck size and weight limits, said the operator of a typical 97,000-pound, six-axle truck pays only half of the cost of repairing road damage caused by its use. Taxpayers pick up the rest of the tab, the AAR said.
"Americans don't want 97,000 pounds or huge multi-trailers up to 120 feet long on our nation's highways," said Edward R. Hamberger, AAR's president and CEO, in a statement.
OOIDA, which represents mostly fleets of one to five trucks, argued that longer and heavier vehicles are harder to maneuver and would put additional stress on roads and bridges designed to accommodate weights no greater than 80,000 pounds. OOIDA said an increase in size and weight limits has never resulted in a reduction in truck traffic.
OOIDA warned the legislation would lead to tax increases and new toll levies because the cost of potentially massive road and bridge damage would far exceed the inflow of user fees paid by the companies that would benefit from the proposed size and weight limit increase.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood added to the criticism, telling the online publication Politico that the measure is the "worst transportation bill I've ever seen in 35 years of public service."
LaHood, who spent 14 years in the House and six on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, also told the publication that the legislation is the "most anti-safety bill I have ever seen."
On to the House
The legislation now goes to the full House. The Senate, meanwhile, will take up separate bills from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee. The full House and Senate versions must then be reconciled by conferees from both chambers. Should conferees reconcile the bill and the full House and Senate approve the reconciled version, it will then be sent to President Obama.
In addition to calling for the safety study, the House bill contains provisions requiring that funds from user fees such as the federal fuel tax on trucks and motor vehicles be used for transportation and infrastructure projects and not be diverted to non-transportation uses.
The House bill also contains language recognizing the need to develop a national freight policy. A similar provision is contained in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee bill, which is sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.).
The House bill also establishes a clearinghouse for drug and alcohol testing of commercial drivers, and strengthens commercial drivers license requirements to ensure that only qualified drivers are behind the wheel.
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The U.S. manufacturing sector has become an engine of new job creation over the past four years, thanks to a combination of federal incentives and mega-trends like nearshoring and the clean energy boom, according to the industrial real estate firm Savills.
While those manufacturing announcements have softened slightly from their 2022 high point, they remain historically elevated. And the sector’s growth outlook remains strong, regardless of the results of the November U.S. presidential election, the company said in its September “Savills Manufacturing Report.”
From 2021 to 2024, over 995,000 new U.S. manufacturing jobs were announced, with two thirds in advanced sectors like electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries, semiconductors, clean energy, and biomanufacturing. After peaking at 350,000 news jobs in 2022, the growth pace has slowed, with 2024 expected to see just over half that number.
But the ingredients are in place to sustain the hot temperature of American manufacturing expansion in 2025 and beyond, the company said. According to Savills, that’s because the U.S. manufacturing revival is fueled by $910 billion in federal incentives—including the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—much of which has not yet been spent. Domestic production is also expected to be boosted by new tariffs, including a planned rise in semiconductor tariffs to 50% in 2025 and an increase in tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25% to 100%.
Certain geographical regions will see greater manufacturing growth than others, since just eight states account for 47% of new manufacturing jobs and over 6.3 billion square feet of industrial space, with 197 million more square feet under development. They are: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee.
Across the border, Mexico’s manufacturing sector has also seen “revolutionary” growth driven by nearshoring strategies targeting U.S. markets and offering lower-cost labor, with a workforce that is now even cheaper than in China. Over the past four years, that country has launched 27 new plants, each creating over 500 jobs. Unlike the U.S. focus on tech manufacturing, Mexico focuses on traditional sectors such as automative parts, appliances, and consumer goods.
Looking at the future, the U.S. manufacturing sector’s growth outlook remains strong, regardless of the results of November’s presidential election, Savills said. That’s because both candidates favor protectionist trade policies, and since significant change to federal incentives would require a single party to control both the legislative and executive branches. Rather than relying on changes in political leadership, future growth of U.S. manufacturing now hinges on finding affordable, reliable power amid increasing competition between manufacturing sites and data centers, Savills said.
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.