U.S. Department of Commerce

US DOT to help oversee Ukraine infrastructure rebuilding

Oil refinery fire in Ukraine.

The U.S. secretaries of transportation and commerce announced Wednesday the signing of a joint statement of intent with their infrastructure counterpart in Ukraine to oversee current and future rebuilding requirements in the war-torn country.

The U.S.-Ukraine Infrastructure Task Force will boost efforts to support private-sector companies in America that will be involved in Ukraine’s reconstruction, with an emphasis on transportation and energy.

“We’re proud to establish the U.S.-Ukraine...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/us-dot-to-help-oversee-ukraine-infrastructure-rebuilding

FreightWaves Classics/Pioneers: Women made their marks on aviation history (Part 6 – the 1980s)

Sally Ride, the first U.S. woman in space. (Photo: iwasm.org)

International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women, began on March 8, 1911. Women’s History Month is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society and has been observed annually in March in the United States since 1987.

To help celebrate Women’s History Month, FreightWaves Classics will continue to profile a number of women who made contributions to transportation during the month of March.

Women have made history...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicspioneers-women-made-their-marks-on-aviation-history-part-6-the-1980s

Anti-dumping penalties help Stoughton Trailers invest $25M in chassis production

Stoughton Trailers, one of five intermodal chassis makers benefiting from massive anti-dumping penalties against China, is investing $25 million in new intermodal chassis production, including a new facility in Waco, Texas, that will create 125 jobs.

The facility, and an expansion in December of chassis production capacity in Wisconsin, directly result from the U.S. Department of Commerce levying $221 million in duties on Chinese chassis manufacturers for selling into the U.S. market at prices...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/anti-dumping-penalties-help-stoughton-trailers-invest-25m-in-chassis-production

Federal panel recommends military drivers help clear ports

A federal advisory committee is recommending that the Biden administration work out a plan to give voluntary and paid truck driving jobs to active military, veterans and National Guardsmen to clear cargo containers from congested ports.

The recommendation, part of several made earlier this week by the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC) to address the ongoing freight supply chain crisis, adds to growing pressure on federal agencies to take more decisive action.

ACSCC, a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/federal-panel-recommends-military-drivers-help-clear-ports

No truck parking (money): OOIDA rips Dems for funding snub

Independent owner-operators took congressional Democrats to task for failing to fund expanded truck parking in the $3.5 trillion federal spending bill.

In marking up its portion of the legislation on Tuesday, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee voted down an amendment offered by Mike Bost, R-Ill., that would have provided $1 billion over the next five years for truck parking projects.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which has been pushing hard for the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/no-truck-parking-money-ooida-rips-dems-for-funding-snub

OOIDA urges Biden administration to bust driver shortage ‘myth’

The Biden administration should reject the notion that there is a shortage of truck drivers and instead focus on why carriers find it difficult to keep drivers in their ranks, according to the largest small-business trucking lobby.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association pressed the department’s Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC) to resolve the underlying causes of excessive driver turnover – also known...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ooida-urges-biden-administration-to-bust-driver-shortage-myth

Federal panel urges Biden administration to attack driver shortage

Supply chain experts advising the Biden administration want the U.S. Department of Commerce to lead a multiagency effort to address a truck driver shortage they warn has “likely reached an all-time high.”

The International Trade Administration’s Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC), a 45-member panel of industry officials that advises the secretary of commerce on national freight policy, voted at an ad hoc meeting on Wednesday to recommend that the department “take a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/federal-panel-urges-biden-administration-to-attack-driver-shortage

FreightWaves Classics: Federal Highway Administration supports US road system

Traffic on a busy interstate. (Photo: saferoads.org)

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation that is focused on highway transportation. The FHWA supports state and local governments in the design, construction and maintenance of the national highway system as well as roads on federally and tribally owned lands.

Oversight of the FHWA is conducted by an administrator appointed by the President by and with the consent of the U.S. Senate. The administrator works under the direction of the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classics-federal-highway-administration-supports-us-road-system

Biden to investigate transportation supply/demand ‘mismatches’

The Biden administration plans to investigate transportation supply-demand imbalances in response to a 100-day review of four key product supply chains.

The White House issued a report on Tuesday following the review that began earlier this year in which the administration assessed vulnerabilities for semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging, large capacity batteries such as those used in electric vehicles, critical minerals and materials, and pharmaceuticals and advanced...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/biden-to-investigate-transportation-supply-demand-mismatches

Truck makers warn Biden of inability to meet freight demand

The world’s leading manufacturers of heavy-duty trucks and truck engines have warned the Biden administration that a severe shortage of semiconductors is hindering their ability to produce enough trucks to meet freight demand.

In comments filed with the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) asserted that the current supply constraints for semiconductors are causing manufacturers to adjust and suspend truck production.

“At...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-makers-warn-biden-of-inability-to-meet-freight-demand

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