Freight Capacity for the 21st Century Special Report 271 (2003) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 15-21
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From page 15... ...
Rail service disruptions, driver and equipment shortages in trucking, peak season congestion at west coast ports, strains on the air traffic control system, and extraordinary delays for traffic at U.S. land borders all contributed to the impression that the freight transportation system was under unusual stress.
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From page 16... ...
The committee considered pending government decisions or immediate issues within established programs that have repercussions for freight capacity, and possible initiatives or departures from established practices. From a practical point of view, the committee was concerned with three kinds of inefficiencies in the freight transportation system: · First, cases where expansion of facilities would be economically worthwhile (that is, benefits to users would exceed the cost of the expan sion)
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From page 17... ...
The committee did not devise measures of system freight capacity. A generally accepted definition of system capacity is not available.
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From page 18... ...
The committee has addressed its conclusions to federal and state government legislators and administrators, private-sector executives and industry associations, and the public. Significant change in the public sector's approach to provision and management of freight capacity would require legislation, which could only come about at the demand and with the support of industry, the public, and transportation professionals.
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From page 19... ...
Shippers complain of service deteriora tion in the past several years, including unusual disruptions following rail mergers in the 1990s. Rail capacity constraints and recent service problems are discouraging to the hopes of state and federal officials, environmental ists, and motorists that rail can relieve highways of part of the burden of truck traffic growth.
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From page 20... ...
Of course, the nation responded effectively to this circumstance in the 1950s with a large and innovative public works program, the Interstate Highway System, created by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The assertion that forecasts of traffic growth justify public works spending has always been controversial.
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From page 21... ...
They concern definitions of freight capacity, the proper way of judging the adequacy of capacity and the performance of the freight transportation system, and delineation of the responsibilities of government related to freight capacity. In addition, immediate policy issues important for freight transportation, most of which concern pending government decisions in existing programs, are identified, and selected recent proposals for reform of government poli cies related to freight capacity are reviewed.
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