--Timothy P. Lynch, president and chief executive officer of the Motor Freight Carriers Association.
- If two companies get their way, importers, exporters, shippers, carriers and forwarders engaged in international trade all will use the same standards to transmit documents electronically. Enter Bolero, or the Bill of Lading Electronic Registry Organization, a joint venture between Through Transit Club, a London-based transport company, and the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial and Telecommunications. Bolero is promising an electronic document delivery system that will move shipments through the paperless netherworld of the Internet without fear of fraud or forgery. But it may be better for banks than shippers.
- The 48 new members who will stride into Washington for the 106th Congress are light on transportation experience, to say the least. Not one of the new members of Congress has anything close to real transportation experience, but 12 of the 48 newly elected lawmakers have expressed interest in sitting on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The committee, which swelled to an unmanageable 75 members last year, most likely will be pared down significantly in the next Congress. Even at its present size, there are only five vacancies.
- Potholes are every driver's problem. But a new study says states would rather build new roads than pave over potholes on existing roads. The economics of the road construction industry are such that it's much more lucrative to build new highways - sometimes at a tab of $100 million a mile in a high land-value urban location - than to repair existing roads. States have the money, thanks to the influx of highway cash provided for in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.
- The new president of the Council of Logistics Management is ready to make the best even better. Kathleen Strange, director of logistics strategy and implementation at Staples Inc., took the helm of the venerable international logistics society at last month's annual conference in Anaheim, Calif. Strange intends to deepen the association's logistics research and broaden its appeal to women and minorities. During its 34-year history the council has grown from a group of domestic transportation and distribution managers into a worldwide network of 12,000 members and 66 local roundtables. Attendance at its annual conferences now hovers around 6,000 people. The prospect of managing such a large and diverse organization doesn't faze Strange. "Our feedback tells us that are delivering a high-quality program. As long as we do that, we are succeeding."
- Aeris Communications is drawing upon technology of yesteryear to improve trucking companies' ability to keep track of their assets and those of customers. By using existing cellular phone technology, Aeris, through its Microburst technology, can cover all of Canada and 70 percent of the United States tracking down empty trailers, shipments and vehicles. San Jose, Calif.-based Aeris has forged alliances with cell phone manufacturers and service providers like Qualcomm and NSR to market and sell its system. Microburst is being touted as the low-cost answer to data messaging needs.
- Miami has had the reputation of being a thief's playground. Now the port of Miami has taken some bold steps to try and shed that image. "Miami is no longer the No. 1 port for stolen cars," the head of marketing for the port said proudly. For years the port has been known as a smugglers' haven for stolen cars and other illegal cargo. Whenever cargo theft figures are tallied, Miami was always No. 1 or No. 2. The port is borrowing from programs used by the U.S. government and port of Los Angeles to beef up security and ferret out thieves.
- Canadian National and Illinois Central should have little trouble meeting the environmental mitigation measures as recommended by the Surface Transportation Board in the proposed merger. This should come as no surprise, given that it is an end-to-end merger where traffic volumes of hazardous materials are not expected to change significantly on any given corridor. In that regard, CN-IC's environmental analysis is significantly different from that of the Conrail acquisition, according to the man responsible for both analyses.
- Federal Express shifted gears last week by moving away from trying to seal a deal with its pilots to ironing out a contingency plan to go into effect if the disgruntled group decides to walk. Talks between the FedEx Pilots Association and management have all but collapsed. No progress was made last week and no new talks were scheduled. Instead, FedEx chose to focus on how it will meet its express deliveries for all of its customers with or without its pilots.
- Canada's highways may be crumbling under the weight of trucks, but the government is not ready to pony up any cash to fix them. For now, patching up the country's medicare system is taking priority. But the transport minister is looking into the possibility of public-private partnerships to help rebuild the roads, 40 percent of which are considered substandard.