P.M. Executive Briefing - June 20
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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High Midwest Gas Costs Mean Reduced Profits
The finger-pointing over who is responsible for the soaring costs of gasoline in the Midwest, especially Illinois, has become much more intense lately as the average per-gallon price of regular unleaded gasoline has climbed over the $2 mark.Officials of the oil industry blame fuel taxes and Environmental Protection Agency regulations for the high prices, while politicians and trucking companies are claiming the oil industry is price gouging. A congressional panel said the reformulated gasoline with ethanol required for use in the Midwest should only cost 8 cents more than RFG with MTBE, another additive meant to reduce air pollution. The use of RFG with ethanol could also be more expensive because it has to be transported by truck, since pipelines are damaged by this type of fuel; in addition, just half of Illinois' six refineries have been retrofit for RFG production.
While congressmen from Illinois were to meet Tuesday with the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to discuss the issue, Ill. State Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Morris) says the strategic oil reserves could be drawn down and oil-producing nations could be pushed to increase production. Daily Southtown Online (06/20/00); Hook, Jim
Paying George Washington Bridge Toll in N.Y. May Soon Be a Zip
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is looking into replacing some tollbooths around the George Washington Bridge with a system that would enable E-ZPass users to drive through at highway speeds.The authority will start removing tollbooths from the E-ZPass lanes on the bridge's lower level and the bridge approach from the Palisades Interstate Parkway next year; if there is enough interest and if the system is found feasible, the new system could be installed within a few years.
While these plazas and the Staten Island bridges are more likely to be able to use the system than the tunnels the port authority operates, there are still hurdles due to the amount of merging highways and local entrances in the area. A similar system is already in place on Route 1 in Delaware and on Toronto's Highway 407. Bergen (N.J.) Record (06/18/00) P. A1; Gilbert, Pat R.
Trailer Bridge Enables Online Shipment Tracking
Trailer Bridge, Inc. has launched a new online shipment tracking capability, allowing its customers to monitor a broad range of crucial events in real time over the Internet. Customers of the Jacksonville, Fla.-based freight company can either visit the Trailer Bridge Web site and track their freight from there, or they can sign up to have shipment tracking information e-mailed to them automatically. Trailer Bridge can be found online at www.trailerbridge.com. Transport Topics staffCamera System Helps Spot I-77 Breakdowns in South Carolina
The South Carolina Department of Transportation is using cameras along a 15-mile portion of Interstate 77 to monitor traffic conditions and report stranded drivers to the State Highway Emergency Patrol. Right now, the department has four cameras along the stretch from Exit 75 to the North Carolina border, and 22 more will be added next month.The emergency patrol may no longer be in the area once highway construction ends this year, so the department will notify the Highway Patrol of breakdowns after then. The cameras are only used to find delays and stranded drivers, not for checking speed-limit compliance. Charlotte Observer (06/19/00) P. 1Y; Smolowitz, Peter
Schneider Turns to Trailer Tracking Via Satellite
Leading U.S. truckload carrier Schneider National has been at the forefront of applying cutting-edge technology to track rolling assets, and is is now set to continue that trend by using technology to determine the location of every trailer in its fleet.The main challenge to this goal, says Schneider COO Christopher Lofgren, was to find the technology that could best track Schneider's untethered trailers, at an affordable price. The company first determined an acceptable price to make such a system feasible. The company's aim was to use untethered tracking to reduce the amount of time trailers sit without being utilized, improve how the trailers are used currently, and decrease the pace at which trailers are bought.
After narrowing the field to only a few choices, Schneider chose the low Earth orbit satellite from Vantage Tracking Solutions, which is a division of Orbcomm Global. This system was then tested based on four primary characteristics: the amount of time between an activity's occurance on the trailer and the report of that activity to Schneider, the use of ultrasonic frequencies to report whether the trailer was empty, the use sensors to determine whether the trailer was loaded or connected to a trailer, and the accuracy of the network's global positioning system. These four measures demonstrated that the system was viable, and Schneider began expanding the application through its fleet in 1999. CIO (06/15/00) Vol. 13, No. 17; P. 164; Roberts, Bill
Radio Frequency Identification Tags Will Revolutionize Trucking
The Maintenance Council's proposal to use Radio Frequency Identification tags to monitor and track tires hints at how RFID may soon be used throughout the trucking industry.These small, solid-state electronic data transmitters come in the form of tags or labels, and they are similar to bar codes in their low cost and ability to be affixed almost anywhere. The readers could be set up on service islands, entrances, exits, where the information could be retrieved as trucks pass by at 15 mph to 20 mph. Display boards could give drivers information about tire pressure and temperature by wheel position, or tell them to go back to the maintenance shop if needed. As an alternative, onboard readers could be placed on the tractor and warn drivers of problems with specific tires.
According to TMC, the ideal RFID tag would compile information on tire pressure, temperature, mileage, and other factors periodically and store this data. The tag should also be able to be programmed with fleet name, vehicle number, wheel position, proper and improper pressure, and other information. The tags have myriad other potential uses and will probably help keep expenses down. Fleet Equipment (06/00) Vol. 26, No. 6; P. 8; Marshall, Lawson
Compiled by Transport Topics staff and INFORMATION, INC. © 2000
