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FRANKLIN TRAFFIC TOPICS
VOL. MMVIII No. 08 April 18, 2008
MOTOR CARRIER RATE INCREASES
The following carriers have published rate increases effective on the dates shown:
A&B Freight Line 5.30% 4/07/08
Mountain Valley Express 4.90% 4/01/08
ONTARIO PROPOSES MANDATORY USE OF SPEED LIMITERS
The Transportation Ministry of Ontario has proposed the mandatory use of "speed limiters" for trucks. It would set a maximum speed of 105 kilometers per hour (about 65.2 mph). Most trucks manufactured since the mid-1990’s have speed limiters which can be set to govern the speed of the vehicle. The European Union has mandated the use of speed limiters for the past decade and the province of Quebec passed a similar bill last year. The Ontario Trucking Association is supporting this regulation. Besides the obvious safety benefits of lowering the speeds of trucks, carriers will also now have the added benefit of lowering their fuel costs by driving at lower speeds (as the increased cost of fuel has had such an impact on carriers costs and profitability).
CUSTOMS ANNOUNCES PRIORITY TRADE ISSUES OF 2008
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced they have established several issues to be “priority trade issues (PTI)” for this year. The issues include:
• Collecting revenue under the antidumping/countervailing duty system,
• Improving the trade fraud penalty process,
• Addressing the misdescription problems and duty evasion effects in the textile and apparel imports,
• Protecting the public health and safety from unsafe imports,
• To focus the agricultural trade strategy to detect and prevent agro-terrorism and bioterrorism and
• To monitor the effectiveness of the CBP’s internal controls over entry duties and taxes.
More specific information on these priority trade issues is available at www.cbp.gov.
TUI INTENDS TO SELL HAPAG-LLOYD
TUI AG, the German parent of Hapag-Lloyd, has announced plans to sell this ocean carrier. Hapag-Lloyd is the fifth largest ocean carrier in the world. TUI is Europe’s largest tourism company. It wants to spin off Hapag-Lloyd so they can concentrate on expanding their tourism business. Franklin Traffic Service will keep you advised in upcoming newsletters as to any sale of this carrier.
WCO ISSUES JOINT RESOLUTION WITH PRIVATE GROUP
OPPOSING
100% CONTAINER SCANNING RULE
The World Custom Organization’s (WCO) Policy Commission and the Private Sector Consultative Group have issued a joint resolution opposing the U.S. requirement for 100% scanning of maritime cargo containers at foreign ports by 2012 and urging Congress to reconsider the proposal. This 100% scanning requirement is a provision of the "Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007". The resolution states 100% screening will result in delays, increased storage demands, port congestion and would be detrimental to world trade and global economic development. The resolution calls on the U.S. to adopt the WCO Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade. This framework includes a "consistent risk management approach to address security threats and a selective intelligent outbound inspection of high risk containers and cargo using non-intrusive detection equipment".
COURT ORDERS NEW FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District ruled that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) must develop new corporate average diesel fuel economy standards for light trucks. The court ruled the environmental impact study of the April 2006 rule was inadequate. The court ordered the NHTSA to issue new rules as soon as possible. The new rules must include light trucks (those between 8500 and 10000 pounds gross vehicle weight) and must close the SUV loophole (lower fuel standards for SUV’s than for cars). The current rules will remain in effect until the new rules are issued. The rules were challenged in court by 11 states, the District of Columbia and several environmental and safety groups (including Public citizen and the Sierra Club).
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Franklin Traffic Service Inc.
5251 Shawnee Rd. Sanborn, New York 14132
Phone: 716.731.3131 Fax: 716.731.2705
Toll Free 800.731.7234
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