P.M. Executive Summary - Aug. 26
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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Infrastructure Plan Disappoints Industry Reps
The Canadian trucking industry thinks the country's C$4 billion planned highway spending does not go far enough.Alberta Trucking Association general manager Collin Heath calls the proposal "deplorable" and cites 1998 Transport Canada research that found the government needs C$17 billion to make Canadian highways come up to par. The federal government and provinces are to share the costs of the proposal.
Corpus Christi to Begin Work on Reefer Facility
The Port of Corpus Christi is to break ground today for a new 100,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse backed by the port and Berkshire Cold Storage. The warehouse will include a 33-foot ceiling height and allow blast freezes of minus 20 Fahrenheit.While no Mexican ports along the Gulf of Mexico have cold storage available, there is such a site planned to open at the Port of Tuxpan by year's end. However, that site seems to be geared toward Mexican exports, while the Corpus Christi warehouse is intended to handle U.S. exports to the Americas, Europe, and Africa. Journal of Commerce (08/26/99) P. 12; Hall, Kevin G.
Rail Sponsored Study Condemns Canadian Truck Safety
Canadians for Responsible and Safe Highways (CRASH), whose financial backing largely comes from the country's rail companies and unions, has issued a report naming Alberta and Saskatchewan as the provinces where long-haul trucks cause the most danger.
he report attributes the problems to existing safety rules, work weeks over 100 hours, and particularly long trailers. Crash executive director Bob Evans says this shows Canada needs federal truck rules rather than province-by-province regulations.
Canadian Trucking Alliance Chief Executive David Bradley says CRASH's funding makes it biased against rail competitors, but agrees that Canada should have nationwide standards. Currently, the federal government has issued 16 safety recommendations.
Nova Scotia, the province with the best safety score in the CRASH report, forbids multiple trailers and has a truck-crash fatality rate 50 percent of the nationwide rate. Edmonton Sun Online (08/26/99)
Truckers: Congestion is Out of Control
Otay Mesa, Calif., motor carriers and customs brokers want more gates and longer gate hours due to backups at the Mexican border crossing. Some truck backups are as long as nine miles with waits averaging four hours.The trucking companies met Monday to write a letter to Customs regarding their loss of profit margins.
Southern California Customs Management Center spokesman Vince Bond says he does not know what has caused the backups, since "We're not doing anything different." However, traders think it has to do with Customs ending its prototype 12-hour-a-day gate hours last month after a 120 day test.
But Bond says truck volume only went up to 2,600 a day during those 120 days from between 2,400 and 2,600. Now, the volume is between 2,000 and 2,300, he says. "Now, when we really, really need it, they reduced the hours," says Camacho Brokers co-owner Fernando Camacho, referring to the impending holiday shipping season.
Trucking companies also say that due to Customs agents looking for drug smugglers, questioning of northbound trucks last at least two minutes each rather than the 20 seconds of information-collecting from southbound trucks by Mexican customs.
But Bond says a recent Customs study found that the inspections were taking between 30 and 45 seconds, not two minutes. The trucking companies also say that the Mexican and U.S. customs inspectors are fobbing the blame for the problem off on each other, but Bond says that is not the case. Journal of Commerce (08/26/99) P. 16; Mongelluzzo, Bill
Intelligent Corridors Ease Transport Flow
Transport Canada is holding a forum in Calgary Aug. 31 to discuss initiatives to use technology as well as common truck standards along the corridor from Alberta south to Texas and Mexico. The initiatives are being set in motion by Transport Canada and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Canada.Vince Woo, senior policy advisor for ITS, advocates developing a system where trucks need only slow down, rather than stop, in weigh stations equipped to weigh trucks and read bar-code data.
One sticking point between Canada and the United States was the latter's fear that allowing heavier Canadian trucks would lead to highway damage that U.S. governments could not afford. But this is changing due to planned increases in U.S. highway spending. Edmonton Sun Online (08/26/99); Taylor, Scott
Driver Pulls Woman From Burning Car
Theressa Nickolai, 75, of DeMotte is alive today because Schneider National trucker Terry L. Earnest pulled her from her wrecked and burning car after an accident on Indiana 10 Tuesday.Nickolai was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer while entering the highway, and her fuel tank exploded on impact, shaking buildings 100 feet away, according to eyewitnesses.
Earnest used a fire extinguisher to quell the intense flames while pulling Nickolai to safety.
The trailer, which was carrying a load of orange juice, also caught fire and caused state officials concern over the acidity of the spilled juice.
he was then taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Crown Point, where she was listed in serious condition, while no citations were given. "We blew back some of the flames with the fire extinguisher while the driver of the semi pulled her out," according to helpful bystander Scott Greer. "His fast action saved her life." Gary Ind. Post-Tribune (08/25/99); Bisacchi, Martha/i>
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