We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Deterioratin' highway blues
big picture

Deterioratin' highway blues

January 6, 2014
Peter Bradley
No Comments

The highway funding dance is about to begin again. The law that funds highway spending expires at the end of the current federal fiscal year on Sept. 30, and that means the battle over what to fund and how to fund it begins again.

Don't expect to see consensus anytime soon on such matters. About the only thing Congress has been able to agree on in regard to highway spending in recent years is less-than-clever acronyms—SAFETEA, SAFETEA-LU, and the current law, MAP-21. For those who are curious, that's the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.

The first proposal aimed at renewing and expanding federal funding for surface transportation spending was filed late last year by Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. Given that he's a Democrat in the sharply partisan and utterly dysfunctional House, it's likely his proposal is, as they like to say on Capitol Hill, dead on arrival. Yet the bill has major elements of what most of those concerned about the state of our highways, bridges, ports, and airports agree we need, and that's more funding.

He proposes a phased-in 15-cent-per-gallon increase in the tax on gasoline and diesel, plus linking the tax to inflation. Longer term, he proposes replacing the fuel tax with some other form of funding—perhaps mileage-based user fees.

The problem with current formulas, as most any observer knows, is that even if every penny of the Highway Trust Fund was spent on credible highway and other transportation projects each year, the funds collected for the fund simply have not been able to keep up with the need for a number of reasons. Principal among those are two related issues. First, Congress last increased fuel taxes in 1993. Inflation, even though relatively mild in recent years, has driven costs up markedly since then. Second, the development of ever-more-efficient vehicles means that drivers spend less on fuel for every mile driven—without reducing wear and tear on the roads.

There's a pretty strong consensus that failure to modernize our highway infrastructure places a huge burden on the economy. You've only had to lose time in a traffic jam to know that. Failure to maintain the highways, bridges, ports, and airports impairs our productivity—and productivity has been a principal factor in the nation's competitiveness for a very long time.

I don't have much hope that Congress in an election year can work this out beyond, perhaps, some sort of short-term extension of the current law. It almost makes you miss the era of earmarks, when Congress could agree to a highway spending bill as long as key players got their new bridges to nowhere.

Transportation Regulation/Government
  • Related Articles

    a cure for Big Blues

    here's hoping for a cure for the summertime blues

    How one pharma distributor beat the drug pedigree blues

Peterbradley
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.

Recent Articles by Peter Bradley

From temp to management: interview with Diane Garforth

Watching over intermodal's interests: interview with Joni Casey

Building resilience into the supply chain: interview with Yossi Sheffi

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Schneider welcomes first battery-electric truck

  • Fred Smith is not worried about Amazon

  • Outlook 2023: What’s in store for logistics/supply chain?

  • Ports, maritime operators see tide turning as ocean freight tsunami subsides

  • In Person: Steve Beverly of Penske

Now Playing on DCV-TV

Eeafd0c7 0569 4a63 8b31 fdbc5322c7cd

Crown’s DualMode Automated Forklifts Revolutionize the Warehouse

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
As part of the company’s ongoing digitization efforts, DHL Supply Chain has deployed Crown’s DualMode automated reach trucks to help ensure resiliency in the supply chain, with reach trucks available 24/7/365. “AGVs provide a better quality of life for our associates on the floor,” says Gordon Hanthorn, Senior...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • Reusable Packaging for the New Wave of Supply Chain Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing