Lawmakers Push for Intermodal Repairs

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee could soon consider a bill that would benefit the trucking industry by requiring steamship lines and railroads to repair container chassis and trailers.

The legislation, known as the Intermodal Equipment Safety and Responsibility Act of 2003, would require ship and rail carriers to repair their equipment before motor carriers could use it to transport freight on the highways.

Railroads and steamship lines oppose the bill, while American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said it was “long overdue” and would close “a decades-old safety loophole.”