The bi-partisan proposal, or Bill H.R. 4321, was introduced in Congress this month by Reps. Jim Gerlach, a Pennsylvania Republican, and Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat. In their proposal, the lawmakers are advocating for replacing the excise tax on large trucks with a 6.3-cent increase in the federal diesel fuel tax.

In announcing the ATA’s support of the bill, ATA CEO Bill Graves said the proposal would “not only reinforce the ailing Highway Trust Fund, but would provide a boost to U.S. manufacturing and speed adoption of environmentally friendly technologies.”

The CEO went on to say that the proposal provides, “…the kind of pro-growth, deficit-trimming legislation that lawmakers should be looking at as they seek to address our nation’s economic woes.”

The ATA CEO also noted that by cutting the excise tax, the total purchase price for a new truck would decline by about $15,000, helping boost truck sales and truck manufacturing.

Late last month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced results of a study that demonstrated that by using technology to limit truck speed, accidents would be reduced and lives saved.

The study, commissioned by the FMCSA, was conducted by researchers at the American Transportation Research Institute and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. The resulting report noted that “multiple analyses indicated a profound safety benefit for trucks equipped with an active [speed limiter].”

The researchers said that despite complaints from critics that speed limiting technology for large trucks would make it more dangerous for other vehicles that would be traveling faster, their data clearly showed otherwise.

By limiting the top speed of commercial trucks with electronic governance equipment, researchers say on-highway deaths and crash numbers likely would be substantially reduced.

“Domain research on the potential downside of speed deviations among vehicles that could occur due to the interaction of [speed limiter]-equipped vehicles and those without [speed limiters] seems to be far outweighed by the significant safety benefits associated with a reduction in absolute speed afforded by [speed limiters],” the study said.

The study was hailed by the American Trucking Associations and others, who have been pushing for speed limiters on commercial motor vehicles for years.

The next question is what the FMCSA will do with the results and how long it might take to create legislation that will push for implementation of limiters on all large trucks.

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The government’s proposed plan to make good on how highway projects are delivered, and refocusing the federal highway program on issues of national interest – including freight movement – earned praise in February from the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

The surface transportation bill, put forth by U.S. House of Representative leaders and Chairman John Mica, includes safety provisions such as the creation of a drug and alcohol testing clearinghouse, and stricter driver training requirements.  It also begins the move toward establishing the first-ever crashworthiness standards for large trucks, something the ATA has always championed, said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. 

According to the ATA, the bill is beneficial for truckers and other highway users alike.  If implemented, he said, it will bring about significant improvements in how Americans travel. 

Other issues addressed by the bill include truck productivity and hours of service rules, as well as federal truck size-and-weight reforms.  

If truck tonnage growth is a solid indicator of improvements in the freight industry, then things are definitely looking up.

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) published its seasonally adjusted index, and said truck tonnage was up by 3.6 percent for the first month of this year.  According to ATA, that marks the fourth year in a row of year-over-year growth and is a sign that things may be improving for the freight industry.

Bob Costello, chief economist at the ATA, says manufacturing and retail sales are helping boost industry numbers, and noted that trucking companies and shippers are reporting good numbers for February, as well.