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The May / June 2006 Edition of the excellent Public Roads magazine includes a wonderful article on how the highways trucks use could take a hint from the information superhighway.

“According to the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) recently released report Freight Facts and Figures 2005 (FHWA-HOP-05-071), international trade is growing faster than the overall U.S. economy. Between 1980 and 2003, the U.S. economy, measured by gross domestic product (GDP), doubled, while foreign trade quadrupled in real value, reflecting unprecedented global connectivity. Ocean, rail, and air carriers use trucks and highways for some component of almost every shipment. Already tight infrastructure capacity will be stressed further by limited new construction and the growing demand from freight transportation. In fact, the FHWA Freight Analysis Framework indicates that by 2020 freight volumes will increase by 70 percent from 1998 totals, and freight volumes through the Nation’s primary gateway ports could more than double. Finding ways to improve the operational efficiency of moving this freight is critical to the Nation’s economic vitality and global connectivity.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recognize that moving freight involves moving information as well as the goods themselves. Although excellent information management can increase freight efficiency, poor information management can add costs, slow handoffs, open security gaps, create delays at gates, and even lead to erroneous freight movements.

Given the important and growing role that goods movement plays in the U.S. economy and the impact that it has on the transportation network, USDOT’s ITS Joint Program Office and FHWA recently launched the Electronic Freight Management (EFM) project. EFM aims to improve the “information highway” that moves critical business information and facilitates the multimodal movement of airfreight, generating benefits for both private and public stakeholders. In particular, the project addresses weaknesses in freight data exchange processes that add costs, create security gaps, and, over time, contribute to congestion.

“It is well accepted that technology systems and electronic data represent one of the few remaining tools for improving both productivity and security,” says Margaret Irwin, director of customs and cross-border operations for the American Trucking Associations. “In addition, regulatory costs can be successfully managed in the long term only by replacing labor-intensive paperwork with electronic systems. Given that international trade now represents 25 percent of our country’s GDP, it is particularly important for ports and borders to operate more efficiently.”

EFM advances several concepts, but the single key concept is to promote electronic data exchanges along a supply chain in an end-to-end manner more robustly than is currently being done.

Typically, freight movements are supported by point-to-point communications, either paper-based or electronic, between parties who agree to such communications. Using the Internet to make data available broadly to any authorized and authenticated user in near real time is key to enabling freight transportation networks to operate more efficiently and securely. This type of data exchange provides buyers and other authorized parties with open visibility into supply chains. Program officials expect that these improvements will help to reduce unnecessary traffic on the transportation network and mitigate congestion.”

For more insight on EFM, please read the original article which goes about covering important themes like the best approach to have, the international data standards to observe, the public and private sector benefits as well as the added security.

This initiative is already bearing fruit and the transports and logistics industry should continue supporting such bold attempts to help our freight flow from the sending point to its destination, as fast and as efficiently as possible.

Tags: freight efficiency, freight flow, transit, highways, transport, logistics, destination

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Yet another important speech has been given by Norman Y. Mineta, df, before the prestigious U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in Washington D.C., at 11 AM, today July 6th, 2006.

The tone was resolutely engaging and the crowd listening to this speech meant business, big infrastructure development business. Most experts agree Mr Mineta want to help the American transports industry as well as the already stressed out commuters, especially in dense urban areas.

“Thank you very, very much everybody. I appreciate it. I want to thank my very, very good friend, Tom Donohue, for that kind and wonderful introduction. Tom and I have been friends for some 30 years. My wife Deni and I very much appreciate our friendship with Tom and Liz and I, especially, am grateful for Tom’s advice. And my thanks to Tom and to the members of the United States Chamber of Commerce for everything that you do to keep our economy strong and vibrant.

Today, I come full circle. I delivered my first policy address as the United States Secretary of Transportation to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in February 2001. Now, I return to make the final speech of my tenure as the Secretary of Transportation. In a broader sense, I leave my public service career as I began it four decades ago – as a passionate believer in the power of transportation to build prosperity and to improve the quality of our lives.

I am grateful to President Bush. He reached across party lines to give me the high honor and privilege of serving in his cabinet, to guide the transportation policies of this great Nation. And I am proud of all that has been accomplished working as part of a tremendous team.

There is much talk of the bitter partisanship that coarsens the political dialogue here in Washington, D.C., and seems to stymie effective action. But I would like to believe that we have shown – at least in some small measure – that it is still possible to place country ahead of party affiliation, in the noble tradition that defines public service at its best.

Our transportation system today is at a critical juncture that cries out for such bipartisanship – or, more accurately, for statesmanship. And while we have laid important legislative and policy foundations over the last five-and-a-half years, continued progress requires facing some basic truths.

The first is that the modern economy – and by extension, our transportation systems – are global in nature.

When I began my public service career many years ago, trade with the rest of the world represented a very small percentage of the United States’ overall economic activity. For sure, certain international markets were heavily developed. But, by and large, American prosperity was determined by what Americans bought from and sold to each other.

Today, international trade is propelling the American economy – and the world economy – in ways previously unimaginable.

The United States has the strongest, fastest growing economy in the developed world because we have some of the world’s strongest transportation systems. But we will lose that competitive edge if we make a habit out of turning our noses up at investors in our seaports, airports, and highways just because they are headquartered outside the United States.

Security is, and must always remain, a foremost concern. But it is pure folly to think that economic isolationism is an option in today’s interconnected world.

Around the globe, I find a growing recognition among my counterparts that the development of transportation systems has become a major determinant of a nation’s economic success. And while the rest of the world is building up its infrastructure, the United States can ill-afford to close the door on much-needed investments – even international investments – in our transportation network. Not when our economic competitiveness depends on our ability to move products and people more efficiently in our growing economy.

Our growing international linkages compel us to face a second transportation truth: Americans must be concerned with the safety of not just our own, but of the world’s transportation systems.

With our unprecedented focus over the past five-and-a-half years, the United States has gained important momentum when it comes to safety on our roadways, along our tracks and at railway crossings, and in our skies.

But the recent series of airplane crashes around the globe stands as a tragic reminder that a weak link in aviation safety, anywhere, reverberates throughout the international aviation community and the global economy.

And the mounting traffic deaths on the world’s roadways can only be described as a public health crisis of epidemic proportions. Each year, more than 1.2 million members of our world family lose their lives – and tens of millions of others are injured or disabled – as a result of road traffic crashes. In addition to the sobering toll on humankind, the economic costs are a staggering $518 billion a year.

If we do nothing, the World Health Organization projects that, by the year 2020, traffic crashes will run ahead of malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS among all contributors to the global health burden.

But, as we have shown here in the United States, we have the power to change that grim future. Traffic crashes are among the most clearly preventable causes of death in the world. And government leaders – as well as every company doing business overseas – have a moral obligation to ensure that there is no easing up on the safety throttle.

Just as morbidity should not be accepted as the price of mobility, so too must Americans reject the unhealthy notion that congestion is a fact of life and that they must learn to live with growing gridlock and an unreliable transportation system.

We can and we must address the congestion that is so pervasive in today’s America before it seriously undermines our economic competitiveness and quality of life. Nationwide, the economic price tag of congestion is already a whopping $200 billion a year, not to mention the largely unmeasured social costs when parents leave for work at dawn, only to get home just as their children are about ready to go to bed.

But we do not have to resign ourselves to live with congestion. To the contrary, a little over a month ago, I announced a plan that can begin to seriously reduce traffic congestion nationwide – now, and not ten or fifteen years down the road – if we have the leadership and political will at all levels of government to see it through.

Some of what we have suggested will be controversial. It will necessitate a cultural change to move from a government-monopoly model for much of our transportation infrastructure toward acceptance of the private sector and market forces.

If we can fix the policy problems, I am confident that the conditions will be ripe for substantial investment. Virtually every major financial institution on Wall Street has created – or is in the process of creating – an infrastructure fund with transportation as a major component.

They correctly recognize the enormous potential in American infrastructure. And it is imperative that future transportation decision-makers continue to foster this interest, not take steps to discourage it.

History may very well reflect back on this as one of the defining public policy debates of our time – as consequential as the one that gave birth to the Interstate Highway System some fifty years ago. And the business community must be active participants.

Finding a way to tackle congestion more meaningfully and successfully is not a problem for some future generation. It is an urgent challenge for today’s leaders.

And the risks of inaction are magnified when one recognizes this final transportation truth: Our transportation systems are lifelines in times of emergency.

We saw these lifelines in action in the aftermath of the horrific attacks of September 11th, 2001, and again during the hurricanes that devastated the Gulf Coast this last year.

Whether an emergency is caused by a deliberate act of terrorism or results from a natural disaster or a health care crisis such as avian flu, we must be able to depend on our transportation systems to evacuate people in need, to move critical supplies and emergency workers, and to provide essential resources rapidly into affected areas.

It is no coincidence that terrorists target our transportations systems. They are the heart of modern societies and modern economies. And I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to help strengthen the heartbeat of America’s transportation network during the first half-decade of the 21st Century.

Let me conclude by gratefully acknowledging the support that I received from President Bush and Vice President Cheney, for whom I have the utmost respect. And the wise counsel, advice, and assistance that I have received from the United States Chamber of Commerce and Tom Donohue, from across the transportation community, and from the highly competent and dedicated staff at the United States Department of Transportation.

Travel safely. May God bless each and every one of you. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.”

Tags: transportation, 21st century, transport, us, infrastructure, highways, airlines

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At some point, it’s important that the transports and logistics industry ask some hard questions to our politicians. Every time we fuel our vehicles with gas, our wallets dry up and it’s getting scary.

What if all this time we’d been lied to? What if gas, or even hydrogen wasn’t our best alternative? What if some powerful people found happiness in enslaving you and your company to the fuel pumps?

Influent voices are now rising to explain, with abundant proof, that it would be a lot more productive and cost effective to use batteries, instead of hydrogen fuel, to power our vehicles.

Sadly for us all, though, it’s a lot more profitable for the apparently omnipotent petroleum industry to develop the hydrogen technology, despite the considerable dangers involved, than investing for the development of efficient batteries.

Why? Because hydrogen will keep us tied up to the pumps.

Again, it’s all about the money.

Would it be possible that we’re all spectators to a giant play resembling a global conspiracy to move us all from one dependency (fossil fuel) to another (hydrogen)?

Sony Pictures has launched, on June 28th 2006, in both Los Angeles and New York, an amazing documentary / movie titled “Who Killed the Electric Car?” that tackles this situation head-on. The movie should be available locally, in most cities, this summer — as a T&L Professional, you should probably see it.

You may ask yoursefl why you should sit at your local cineplex looking at a “documentary” for a few hours? It’s a good question but let’s start with a few facts. In 1996, not so long ago, electric cars began to pop up on California’s roads. They were quiet, fast (zippy, to be precise), produced no exhaust and basically ran without any gasoline… a dream on four wheels, right?

Ok, so why are electric cars on the way out?

What happened?

In the transports and logistics industry, it’s hard to imagine daily business without using fossil fuel but, in comparison, look at the rest of our lives.

We use batteries in toothbrushes, rasors, flashlights, remotes, wireless phones, portable devices and computers… nowadays, even the books we buy for our kids come with little battery powered sound systems that play music while they read!

I’ll admit we either have to recharge the batteries once in a while (or even change them) but overall, we’re getting decent performance.

Why can’t we use batteries in our vehicles, especially for shorter commutes?

Imagine the savings in the T&L industry if all short distances could be taken care of by electric vehicles. Nobody would want to switch back to fossil fuel or even hydrogen so why are we so passive and tolerant about those “alternatives” now?

The ongoing debate over how to fuel the many vehicles in our highly mobile society will not stop here but hopefull, by asking questions, T&L operators from around the world will keep an open mind about what the future may have in store.

Tags: electric cars, gm, mobile society, fossil fuel, hydrogen, no emissions, documentary

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Part of the work associated with operating a vehicle fleet has to do with managing the refueling costs.

If the latest developments are any indication, the gas retailers will look to install much more advanced fuel pumps that’ll sell gas, of course, but a whole lot more.

Think about buying a cup of coffee, a lottery ticket, downloading MP3s and even check traffic reports — all without ever leaving the pump! Such a “modern” pump was previewed at the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas.

Killing time at the pump may never be same!

Based on Dresser Wayne’s popular and field proven Ovation fuel dispenser, the Ovation iX features the same stylish design, user-friendly interface and reliable performance. But it also offers a range of new tools specifically engineered to increase retailer’s profits while reducing their costs.

Powered by Dresser Wayne’s state-of-the-art iX Technology Platform, the Ovation iX can be equipped with:

iX Media, which helps retailers drive in-store sales with customized full-motion video promotions on a dispenser-integrated 10.4” color display, with built-in speaker.

iSense, which reduces ownership costs by remotely and automatically troubleshooting and fixing potential site equipment problems before they occur.

iDPOS, whose fault-tolerant design guarantees uninterrupted fuel and merchandise sales by independently managing transactions and credit card sales even if the in-store POS is offline.

The Xflo Meter, Dresser Wayne’s fastest, most accurate fuel meter ever, virtually eliminates meter drift, meaning it never needs recalibration and therefore, the retailer loses less money.

The Ovation iX also features clutter-free side-hanging hoses, an intuitive ATM-style interface, integrated flow rate controls, and an easy-to-access panel door. It can also be fitted with an optional cash acceptor, Wayne SCAN, Wayne TRAC and Healy vapor recovery equipment.

Transports and logistics companies should be happy such developments are underway because, in essence, they’re meant to help customers “refuel” faster and somewhat more conveniently (for gas and everything else).

On the flipside, since it’ll be easier to buy loads of stuff at the pump, company managers will probably want to check their employee’s gas bills more closely, in the future!

Tags: gas pumps, refuel faster, convenience, gas bills, dresser, ix media

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