Examining Economic, Environmental, and Societal Impacts of Freight Transportation: December 5th U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructures Hearing

The Subcommittee on Highways and Transit and Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials of the United States House of Representatives (“Subcommittee”) held a hearing on December 5th titled:

Where’s My Stuff?: Examining the Economic, Environmental, and Societal Impacts of Freight Transportation (“Hearing”)

The Hearing witnesses included and their prepared testimony addressed:

• Ms. Erin Aleman, Executive Director, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
  • Efficient freight movement requires multiple modes working together seamlessly and reliably
  • Improving the freight system to meet growing freight needs is critical to the nation’s economic competitiveness
  • Consumer demand shifts such as the rise in e-commerce/quick delivery is shifting supply chains
  • Public investment in the nation’s multimodal freight infrastructure is chronically inadequate to meet system demands
  • National strategy should be developed that guides long-term planning
  • Sufficient levels of funding should be provided that are dedicated, sustainable and flexible
  • A merit-based criteria for funding allocation should be implemented
  • A partnership should be formed with the private sector
• Mr. Chuck Baker, President, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
  • Short Lines Railroad operate nearly 50,000 miles of track constituting 30% of the national railroad network
  • Short Line Railroads have the right economic stuff preserving service and jobs over track that was previously headed for abandonment under Class I ownership
  • Short Line Railroads service the only connection to the larger national railroad network and some small towns in rural America
  • Short Line Railroads lower transportation costs for the local shippers
  • Short Line Railroads have the right environmental stuff as the most fuel-efficient way to move freight over land
  • Short Line Railroads have the right societal stuff as the safest option for moving freight by land
  • Short Line Railroads should be directly eligible applicants for project grants similar to CRISI
  • Mandating crew sizes on trains would be counter-productive because it would make trains less competitive with other transportation modes
• Ms. Anne Goodchild, Ph.D., Founding Director, Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Center, University of Washington
  • The last mile of the delivery destination should be considered when freight infrastructure investment is being discussed
  • The last mile is essential, and expensive; and the most difficult and costly mile
  • Online shopping rates are growing which is increasing demand for last mile delivery
  • United States cities were not built to handle the nature and volume of current freight activity and are struggling to accommodate growth
  • There is too much demand for too little space and evidence of poorly functioning system
  • Delivery services present an opportunity to reduce emissions per package as they consolidate many packages into one vehicle
  • Private carriers are struggling to comply with city regulations and remain financial competitive while meeting customer expectations
  • Customers are benefiting from high levels of convenience but also experiencing high levels of congestion and suffering from effects of growing emissions
  • Cities and towns are struggling to meet demands of multiple stakeholders and enforce existing rules
• Mr. Ian Jefferies, President & CEO, Association of American Railroads
  • Railroads are indispensable to the United States economy, expanding existing markets and opening new ones
  • Affordability of freight rails saves customers billions of dollars each year and enhances the global competitiveness of United States products
  • Railroads are the most fuel-efficient way to move freight over land
  • Railroads have undertaken steps to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions
  • Railroads help reduce the economic cost of highway congestion
  • Railroads are much more capital intensive than most industries
  • Rail operations are subject to stringent safety oversight by the Federal Railroad Administration
  • Changing markets present a serious challenge to railroads
  • Railroads must be flexible and innovative to meet change in industrial demands
  • The railroad industry supports highway-rail grade crossings safety through engineering solutions, education and enforcement
  • The freight railroad industry supports funding for Amtrak and public partnering with freight railroads
  • Restore the highway trust fund to a true user-based fund
• Mr. Jason Mathers, Director, Vehicles & Freight Strategy, Environmental Defense Fund
  • Implementation of policies that will reduce carbon pollution and set on a path of net-zero carbon emissions economy-wide by 2050 should be implemented now
  • Every mode of freight transportation has a significant pollution footprint and health impacts on communities near freight facilities and highways
  • Analysis of impacts of freight on public health in certain municipalities have been undertaken by the Environmental Defense Fund
  • Solutions exist to significantly reduce impacts
  • Further improvements from an emission standpoint for combustion engine trucks should be sought
  • More should be gotten out of every move in that the United States is using only 43% of the capacity of freight trucks on the road
  • The United States Congress should pass policies that increase the adoption of solutions and invest in the development of solutions that can further drive progress
  • Encourage the production of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles should be encouraged
  • Development of ZEVs within front-line communities should be prioritized
  • The development of appropriate charging infrastructures should be supported
• Mr. Jim Tymon, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
  • Freight transportation is important in the context of surface transportation reauthorization
  • Core principles of reauthorization include federal freight policy
  • Specific freight policy recommendations are provided for the next surface transportation bill
  • Ensure timely reauthorization of a long-term federal surface transportation bill
  • A long-term, sustainable revenue solution for the Highway Trust Fund should be enacted
  • Formula-based federal funding should be provided to the states and increased and prioritized
  • Flexibility should be increased, program burdens reduced, and project delivery improved
  • The state Department of Transportation’s ability to harness innovation and technology should be supported

Copies of the witnesses’ testimonies can be downloaded below:

https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Aleman.PDF 

https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Baker.pdf 

https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Goodchild.pdf

https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Mathers.pdf 

https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Tymon.pdf