In California, trucks are limited to a posted 55 M.P.H. speed limit. Hence, they are for all practical purposes limited to the right two lanes of a four lane (per direction) Interstate highway in the State. And, now just those two lanes are disintegrating very, very badly in some areas.
Are loaded 53-foot Intermodal containers too heavy for the highways? Will a return to 40- and 45-foot containers make a comeback big time? That obviously will be good for labor, both for railroading and with truckers. But, shippers will likely end up paying more …
Check the load limits on 20 foot, 40 foot, 48 foot and 53 foot containers - Their load limits are very nearly the same within a few kilos.
NOW - how heavy the shippers are actually loading them and the drivers abilities to miss weigh stations and get ticketed for overweight trailers is open to conjecture.
While it has been some time since I had any direct connection to intermodal operations - in many cases the yard tractor that was used to lift trailers to put them in position for loading would have their hydraulic 5th wheels sorely tested in being able to pick up the overweight boxes. The rates at that time were assessed on a per box rate with no weight component.
Why are the Roads in such bad shape in this nation. One is the Prevailing wage act for Road workers. When it costs 2X the normal wages of someone that runs a Backhoe or is a Laborer at a Highway Contrator because of that piece of Legislation if they are getting Highway or any Federal Funding it is hard to maintain all teh roads in this nation. Sorry but the company that installed the sewer in my township normally only pays 15-20 bucks an hour for a laborer here in IL. They were instead giving them 40 bucks an hour for the DURATION of the CONTRACT with my Township because they were getting Federal Funds from the Stimulas and also had to pay the Prevailing Wage Act.
Second the Federal Highway Trust Fund that was supposed to be USED to MAINTAIN the Highways was and is used as CONGRESSES Piggybank for Pork Barrel Spending. So blame the CONS in Congress.
Last Cailfornia has had HUGE budget Probelms since the 90’s and the First thing to get cut is ALWAYS Maintance of the Highways. So the roads take the hit you think So Cal is Bad try Donner Pass.
Also remember this about American Roads Built for teh LOWEST BIDS with NO Warrenty required that means that 2 days after the Contract is DONE if the repair fails OH WELL the Contractor is NOT responsible for the Repairs. Compair that to the REST of the WORLD where the Contractor has to WARRENTY their work for at least 10 YEARS. Also Most roads were built when the Weight limit was 73,230 on 5 axles NOT 80K on 5 Axles or in PA 90K on 5 axles for Intermodal. In rr terms they are trying to run 286K cars on tracks that can handle 260K loads. While the FRA aka ATA is demanding 315K on the same tracks. See there is a problem we need to rebuild the roads in this nation I have seen what is under the roads around here 3 inches of Asphalt then 3-4 inches of Rock then Dirt that is IT. In Europe they have 6-8 Inches of Asphalt over 12-15 INCHES of Gravel before the dirt now you see why they have better roads. Concrete roads are not much better.
A concrete rod is only 4-6 inches thick and 2 inches of Gravel under it. Thats it not enough subase to keep them safe from Frost heaves.
This argument has been going on for decades. Photos of pounded pavement are nothing new.
Are truckers charged enough to cover the cost of the damage they do? Are they charged too much? Or, are their user fees just right? It’s been kicked around since the trucking industry developed.
I haven’t seen anything really change in this area, and I don’t expect any significant changes in my lifetime. It’s political, and any attempted significant change will be kicked down the road time and time again. Truck user fees won’t change significantly and neither will size and weight limits. The rail intermodal system will continue to evolve in the current environment.
A major factor in that environment will be fuel costs. They’ll continue to favor a shift to rail. Baring government interference, the US will become less dependent on foreign oil. We now have excess refining capacity. But that means the refined products, gas and diesel fuel, will get exported.
That’s good for our overall economy, but it’s going to be bad for the truckers as it will keep fuel costs high.
This link isn’t hot, but if you copy and paste it there is some information on what’s happening.
The roads will never be in good repair because bad roads sell the need for tax revenue to the public. Nothing speaks to the public like a broken spring or torn-off tire. And politicians love it when the public demands they fix things. The more things that need fixing the better. Bad roads are a golden goose that lays golden eggs for politicians who need an inexhaustible supply of money to build their empires.
"…A major factor in that environment will be fuel costs. They’ll continue to favor a shift to rail. Baring government interference, the US will become less dependent on foreign oil. We now have excess refining capacity. But that means the refined products, gas and diesel fuel, will get exported.
That’s good for our overall economy, but it’s going to be bad for the truckers as it will keep fuel costs high…"
{ as an interesting aside Drudge Reports links this same article on its front page at Noon this date 12/05/2011)] “US exports record amount of gasoline”
FTA:“…But now the country’s massive refining infrastructure is producing more gasoline, diesel and jet fuel than the United States needs, freeing it up to be exported to places like Brazil, Mexico and Chile where demand is still strong…”
To my curiosity, about some of those costs_. I_ was always under the impression that the refining of Diesel as fuel was a process that required less energy than that to refine grades of gasoline_.(Therefore Diesel was a cheaper fuel to use( because of its cost structure)._ But the cost of road fuel around here ( So Central Kansas) always seems to be at least a dollar a gallon over “regular” gasoline? I know the cost of Road Fuel is loaded with various taxes, but I was always under the impression that the Railroad use of Diesel was figured without a parallel tax cost structure(?).
Not mentioned so far is the push for even higher weight limits for trucks. Legislation is already before Congress. This time, they are using the “green” theme, stressing efficiency and claiming there will be fewer trucks on the road as a result.
If you have ever been to Michigan, they already allow these monsters.
Did a little bit of driving in Michigan 20 years ago - their roads had been beaten to death then, with the implosion of the tax base in the intervening years, I would hate to guess how bad those roads are now.
The Fuel taxes on a Gallon of Diesel Fuel are an avarage of 53.9 cents a gallon Which the RR’s get a break from. Also there are some states that also charge Sales tax on top of the Fuel tax IL is a Huge one for that. here is a Breakdown on all states and what they charge. http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/upload/gasoline-diesel-summary.pdf
Ed,what about off road trucks nationwide,use to drive a concrete mixer and the company had to figure the time that the truck was on a job to get out of paying the tax.
For their locomotives, the railroads don’t pay the highway use fees included in the highway fuel station pump prices. This isn’t a “Break” as Ed says, it’s simply a reality that the locomotives and train aren’t using the public highway and therefor don’t have to pay for that use.
As to the price of diesel fuel vs. its cost; cost is but a floor to price. No enterprise can charge below its cost and long survive. What determines the price is the relationship of supply and demand. That’s elementary, but so many people loose sight of that basic fact.
There is no set level of world demand for diesel fuel. At $3.00/gallon the demand is a certain amount. At $4.00/gallon the demand is a lesser amount. At $3.00/gallon the supply is also a certain amount. At $4.00/gall the supply is a greater amount. As long as the price is above the costs of production and distribution, the price will be where the supply and demand balance. Cost will be nothing more than a floor to price.
It’s elementary, but so many people have a hard time accepting this reality.
Diesel was Cheaper back in the late 90’s what happened the EPA emissions standards that DEMANDED almost all the Sulpher be Removed from it. So they had to redo the Refining process added 2 more cataltic Processes to it and that added alot more in COSTS to the making of Diesel. BTW all Diesel sold in the USA is now Ultra Low Sulpher now. In 94 the standard was 300 PPM of Sulpher then ion 96 it dropped to 50 then to allow the Engines to meet EPA standards they had to drop it to 15PPM or LESS.
Add to that tight supplies and there are tight supplies when one refinery has not been built in the USA for 40 + years. Also Diesel is very close to Kerosene and has some the same feedstocks as Jet Fuel and other popular Items such as Plastics so that is why the Price jumped. Sorry called knowing people in the indusrtry and keeping up with the trends in the Industry.
BTW Greyhounds there is almost a Set amount of Demand for Diesel Fuel per Year Just look at how many miles the Trucking Industry ran last year divide by 5 and that will get you CLOSE. Then look up Class one RR usage and the amount the Military used and your close.
To my curiosity, about some of those costs_. I_ was always under the impression that the refining of Diesel as fuel was a process that required less energy than that to refine grades of gasoline_.(Therefore Diesel was a cheaper fuel to use( because of its cost structure)._ But the cost of road fuel around here ( So Central Kansas) always seems to be at least a dollar a gallon over “regular” gasoline? I know the cost of Road Fuel is loaded with various taxes, but I was always under the impression that the Railroad use of Diesel was figured without a parallel tax cost structure(?).
For their locomotives, the railroads don’t pay the highway use fees included in the highway fuel station pump prices. This isn’t a “Break” as Ed says, it’s simply a reality that the locomotives and train aren’t using the public highway and therefor don’t have to pay for that use.
As to the price of diesel fuel vs. its cost; cost is but a floor to price. No enterprise can charge below its cost and long survive. What determines the price is the relationship of supply and demand. That’s elementary, but so many people loose sight of that basic fact.
There is no set level of world demand for diesel fuel. At $3.00/gallon the demand is a certain amount. At $4.00/gallon the demand is a lesser amount. At $3.00/gallon the supply is also a certain amount. At $4.00/gall the supply is a greater amount. As long as the price is above the costs of production and distribution, the price will be where the supply and demand balance. Cost will be nothing more than a floor to price.
OK Ed, if you say so. Supply and demand doesn’t apply to diesel fuel and the world demand for it is the same whether it cost $0.50/gallon or $50.00/gallon. I never would have thought such a thing.
