U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao today announced the release of the first-ever National Freight Strategic Plan (NFSP). Read the U.S. Department of Transportation press release, learn more about the NFSP, and find a link to Secretary Chao’s remarks at this link to the U.S. Department of Transportation website.
Continued efforts in developing the marine freight system across the MAASTO region are paying off. Funds have specifically been granted to ports in Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois. Neighboring states, upstream and downstream MAASTO states will also benefit from this funding. On June 15, 2020 U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announced $9.5 Million in Grants […]
Many of you have likely received notification directly from TRB, but the Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) Workshop set for April 2 & 3 has been postponed until September 24-25, 2020. Please see the event page for more information: https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/09-24-2020/commodity-flow-survey-workshop.
AASHTO provided comments on freight reauthorization to the U.S. DOT this past February. The AASHTO freight policy perspective reflects a continued interest to better define the multimodal freight system, provide funding and program flexibility, allow for technological advances, build on freight performance measures, improve project delivery and re-establish a freight-specific, cooperative research program. The AASHTO […]
A 43-page report issued by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on October 17 examines whether a federal vehicle miles traveled or VMT tax on commercial trucks can help sustain the Highway Trust Fund, which the CBO projects will be “exhausted” of funding by 2022. Read the AASHTO article at this link. Access the 43-page report on the Congressional […]
MAFC technical representatives from 10 member states met in Indianapolis, Indiana for the MAFC 2019 Annual Meeting. The meeting was held August 12-14 in conjunction with the MAASTO 2019 conference. Freight topics included vehicle platooning, truck parking and TPIMS, marine freight planning and impacts, blockchain and new technology for freight payments, and connected and automated vehicles. […]
“The lack of available truck parking rounds out the top five issues but ranks third among commercial driver respondents after compensation and HOS rules.” Click here to read the full article on the Transport Topics website.
A Mountain-Plains Consortium (MPC) publication reported on a study titled Cognitive Underpinnings of Beliefs and Confidence in Beliefs about Fully Automated Vehicles which investigated the cognitive underpinnings of consumers’ beliefs and confidence in their beliefs about fully automated vehicles. Following previous research, opinions about self-driving cars tended to be mixed. The most negative views were held […]
Article on FreightWaves 2019-09-04 Hurricane Dorian’s approach upward along the U.S. Southeast coast will shutter maritime and rail assets throughout the region during the week. Dorian was located just 100 miles off the Florida coast as of Monday evening, according to the National Hurricane Center, and was stationary just off Freeport, Bahamas. It was downgraded […]
Article by THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE 2019-08-28 19:27:06 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released a study that quantifies the cost-savings and competitive advantages that would accrue from investing in long-delayed improvements to inland waterways locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois River system. The study, Importance of Inland Waterways to U.S. Agriculture, addresses the […]
