The Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 – “The Highway Bill”

An interesting coalition of organizations representing shippers, transportation providers and government agencies is calling for the creation of a cohesive national freight strategy as part of the six-year Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009, also known as the “Highway Bill”.

The Highway Bill is currently up for debate in Congress .

If one is to believe the authors of the bill, it is intended to “transform Federal surface transportation to a performance-based framework to reduce fatalities and injuries on our Nation’s highways, address the mobility and access needs of people and goods, improve the condition, performance, and connectivity of the United States intermodal surface transportation system, provide transportation choices for commuters and travelers, promote environmental sustainability, public health, and the livability of communities, support robust investment in surface transportation, and for other purposes.”

The bill opens with that grandiose statement of purpose but critics are concerned that it doesn’t adequately address freight transportation. The Freight Stakeholders Coalition believes that substantial investment in the freight transportation system must be given a high priority by the U.S. legislature.

The Senate’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee almost unanimously approved an 18-month extension of federal highway programs from October of this year through March 2011, giving Congress a bit of breathing room to revise the existing bill. The coalition though believes that the delay indicates that freight issues are being pushed to the bottom of the President’s priorities.

Janet Kavinoky from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce noted that “[f]reight is an issue that should be at the top of the nation’s priority list – but it is not. No matter the differences among industries as to what needs the most funding, we all recognize 18 months is too long to wait to pass a reauthorization bill. What do we need more time for? There’s enough information out there about what we need to do to fill this room 10 times over.”

“The only thing we need time for is to make transportation and freight policy a priority,” she said. “The health care debate has sucked all the oxygen out of the room. But there must be time for us to work on more than one issue critical to our future.”

Currently, the bill addresses the creation of an inclusive freight plan covering roads, rails and ports. However, funding appears to cover only the expansion of highway capacity for freight – ignoring rail freight.

Freightquote.com books an enormous volume of both rail and road freight (as well as intermodal shipments). Freightquote is hopeful that Congress recognizes the importance of freight transportation – both roadway and railway – to this country’s economic recovery and addresses both bill language and funding to the creation of a completely inclusive freight plan as part of the Highway Bill.

Why Ship Intermodal with Freightquote?

Freightquote.com and its subsidiary Twin Modal have offered shippers the option of transporting their freight via intermodal transportation for many years. But why should a shipper consider using intermodal service? What are the benefits as compared to traditional truck carriage?

Intermodal transportation has certainly been on the rise in recent years. Intermodal is the transportation of freight in containers using several different modes of transportation. Technically, this could involve any combination of rail, truck, sea and air freight transport. Most commonly in the United States, though, it refers to a truck/rail combination.

The first benefit to using intermodal is generally reduced cost as compared to trucking in a cross-country trip. (Shorter trips are still less expensive over-the-road.) One reason is the lower fuel expense of rail transport in these days of greatly fluctuating fuel costs.

A second benefit for many shippers is the increased security and reduced damages resulting from less cargo handling. The cargo is loaded onto a container at the point of origin and is not usually touched until it is unloaded at its destination. Less handling means less opportunity for damage in most instances. (It should be noted though that not all products are appropriate for rail transport. Very fragile and very heavy freight should still travel over-the-road to be safe.)

Some shippers may be concerned about the added time that intermodal shipments require. While it is true that intermodal freight takes a bit longer, the transit times are actually getting better. The railroads are now offering much more consistent service and a direct coast-to-coast delivery now usually takes just over a week.

As more manufacturers consider their environmental impact, it may also be important to note that intermodal transportation uses less fuel and produces less pollution than roadway transport for the same freight and distance.

By using the freight quoting services at Freightquote.com, shippers can easily compare the transit times and costs associated with both intermodal and over-the-road shipments.  The Freightquote system allows customers to view each option side-by-side before deciding which works best for them. Once a decision is made, booking the shipment is simple and easily managed from pick-up to delivery regardless of which mode is chosen.

Intermodal Freight Services – Freightquote.com

If you’ve ever been to an international port or if active railroad tracks run through your city or town, you’ve most likely seen intermodal freight shipping in action. Intermodal shipping merely means that freight is moved via more than one mode of transportation: ship, rail and/or truck. Freightquote.com is a simple way to arrange for easy-to-manage intermodal freight shipments.

Large international companies often ship their goods across the oceans via large containers on ships. You may have seen freight yards near shipping ports filled with stacks of these trailer-like, metal containers. Once the container is removed from the ship, it is either placed on a truck or a rail car to be transported within the country.

Domestic manufacturers can also benefit from intermodal transport for very large shipments moving over 1,000 miles. Truckload freight is loaded into a container or special trailer, then taken by truck to be loaded onto a specialized rail car. After the container arrives at its destination by rail, it is transferred to another truck for final delivery.

In the right situation, intermodal service can save a shipper substantial money compared to standard truckload rates. A single train can deliver multiple containers or trailers for a company in lieu of a complicated caravan of several different truckload haulers. The efficiencies of intermodal shipping are apparent in terms of time and money.

The coordination of such intermodal freight though can become extremely complex. Fortunately, Freightquote.com has the resources and relationships available to manage domestic and international intermodal shipments with ease. In addition to its phenomenal network of reliable carriers, Freightquote can access any domestic railroad or stacktrain service for a company’s intermodal freight needs. Freightquote can even arrange for the quick drayage service which trucks a container or trailer from port to railway.

As you might imagine, the coordination involved in making sure that multiple international and domestic carriers across several modes of transport are all on the same page for any particular shipment can be daunting. Freightquote.com makes the entire process painless by handling all carrier coordination and scheduling, managing all freight activity from start to finish and combining it all into one simple invoice while keeping you updated on how to ship.