MAP-21: National Freight Network, Motor Carrier Safety and Rail Safety

Guest Post By Rico Fleshman

Recognizing that the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of goods across the nation contributes to the economic stability of the country, lawmakers focused on freight mobility in MAP-21 by directing the Secretary of Transportation to develop a strategic plan to underpin national freight policy by creating state freight advisory committees, state freight plans, and designating a national freight network (NFN). The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has been tasked with gathering information from all public and private stakeholders to establish a primary freight network (PFN) and designate critical rural freight corridors (CRFCs) to provide an inventory of national freight movement to the secretary for use in the NFN. Why?

Given that the freight moved across the country is predicted to nearly double by 2030 and the current highway system is ill-equipped to deal with current freight capacity, a much needed look had to be taken at how goods are moved through the transportation system and what changes are needed to maximize performance while keeping it safe and minimizing environmental impacts. The cost also needs to be justified. In order to effectively meet the challenge of increasing freight volume and its movement, increased federal funding and resources will be needed.

The NFN should lay the groundwork for a system that can handle increasing freight capacity well into the future. Tapping more innovative thinking and alternative solutions in regards to how freight is efficiently moved outside of regulations in reauthorization is another story.  

Capacity and safety are different issues, though they both correlate to an efficient, reliable system. At the forefront of regulations and enforcement of policy is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Charged with reducing accidents and fatalities in bus and truck related incidents, FMCSA has adopted the statutory requirements set forth in MAP-21 and has spent the good part of a year answering to the transportation logistics industry for enforcing those requirements.

While there are overarching rules to enhance operator safety that go without challenge, some rules are widely contested by the industry as overburdening providers and hindering the operator or small provider’s ability to do business. Regardless of the stance on these issues, the fact remains that FMCSA has the safe operation of truck and buses over the roads as their primary objective and that contributes to the efficient movement of freight.

As freight volume has increased, so has the transport of hazardous materials by rail. The movement of crude oil and ethanol by rail in the US has reached record levels, which has unfortunately been coupled with an increase in catastrophic accidents. The Cherry Valley, Ill. and Casselton, N.D. train derailments have brought increased visibility to the need to examine the conditions under which we operate trains that transport hazardous materials.

The USDOT Federal Railroad Administration, National Highway Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and the American Association of Railroads are a few of the stakeholders weighing-in on updates to the regulations needed to increase rail safety. They all agree that higher standards need to be developed and a comprehensive approach needs to be employed. Tank car loading and unloading, speed reduction, braking and new braking devices, education of first responders, labeling and classification of materials, as well as rail car design are all up for consideration when it comes to mitigating accidents.

There is concern, however, that once the regulations are handed down the cost to retrofit the tank cars currently in operation, coupled with rail car manufacturer’s existing backlog and ability to produce new cars in a timely manner, could diminish rail shipping and increase transport by truck and pipeline. That would create the need for a whole new set of regulatory updates. Nevertheless, with production and transport of crude oil and ethanol by rail showing no signs of subsiding, these regulations are desperately needed to keep everyone safe.

For more about MAP-21, see my related posts:

• MAP-21: Re-Authorization and the Effects on Transportation Logistics
• MAP-21 Reauthorization: Bill Term and the Effects on Transportation Logistics

In my next piece, I will take an in depth look at logistics and the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). Is the situation as dire as we are led to believe?

About the Author

Rico Fleshman is the Corporate and Strategic Manager: Transportation, Logistics and Supply Chain for American Public University. He has worked with numerous transportation associations and has extensive knowledge of federal and state transportation policy, funding, metropolitan planning processes and regulatory compliance of transportation programs.  For information on the online Transportation, Logistics and Supply Chain programs at APU, visit StudyatAPU.com

 

Amazon Drones and Reverse Logistics

Guest Post by Dr. Robert Gordon, faculty member at American Public University

The recent announcement on 60 Minutes by Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos to use drones to deliver products via his proposed Amazon Prime Air is sparking the interests of professional logisticians around the globe. What’s most compelling is that Amazon’s announcement does not address potential benefits to the reverse logistics field that drones can offer in the near future. In fact, Amazon might be missing out on a huge potential market.

Imagine being in the field and needing equipment (say a radio) to be repaired. Rather than follow the traditional channels of returning products to a depot for repair and then either waiting for the repaired item or a replacement to be shipped out—a drone could carry the item back directly to the depot and then have the replacement returned directly to the service person in the field. 

Not only does this have the potential to drastically reduce the return and replacement cycle time, but the entire process is also far more environmentally sound. Battery powered, green drones would replace the inefficient internal combustion engine vehicles that are currently used in the delivery and return process. Furthermore, drones could free up personnel that could be deployed in other areas rather than driving materials to and from the field. 

Consider the following real-world example. A person takes a car to a garage to be given a routine tune- up and brake service. This service might include small parts like spark plugs, gaskets, cables, brake pads, and the like. Most garages do not keep these parts on hand. They often must send a driver, or they have a delivery made to get the needed parts. In addition, disks and drums might need to be serviced at a machine shop. Imagine the efficiencies if all these parts were sent and received by drones.  

The movement of green drones throughout the city would not be limited by traffic and would be far less polluting than trucks going from place to place. This application of forward and reverse logistics would greatly reduce emissions as fewer service vehicles would need to be on the road. 

Based on this game-changing news, reverse logistics professionals need to start thinking about the potential of this new technology now.  The applications are limitless and drones are sure to have a huge impact on the reverse logistics of the future.

About the Author

Dr. Robert Lee Gordon is currently an Associate Professor with American Public University System in the Reverse Logistics.  He has four published books, three regarding project management and one regarding reverse logistics in addition to dozens of articles.  Dr. Gordon curates a Reverse Logistics topic at http://www.scoop.it/t/reverse-logistics-by-robert-gordon2.