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ATA president and CEO Chris Spear spoke before Congress about the importance of a strong plan for infrastructure funding. Photo: U.S. DOT
">American Trucking Associations president and CEO Chris Spear appeared before Congress, urging the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to act quickly and intelligently on the infrastructure funding plan.
Testifying before the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Spear asked committee members to put aside partisan differences and do what is necessary to fix the nation's roads and bridges.
“It is very clear that doing nothing will impose a much higher cost on the American people and on the industry I represent,” said Spear. “The trucking industry loses more than $63 billion every year because of congestion on our highway system. That's 362,000 truck drivers sitting idle for an entire year. And as much as we liked the tax cut we got last year, we're going to give it all back because that $63 billion is like a 9% tax on our industry. These are the costs of doing nothing.”
Spear also pushed the ATA's own Infrastructure plan called the Build America Fund. The plan calls for a 20-cent user fee to be collected on wholesale purchases of motor fuel to pay for repairs and improvements. According to the ATA, such a plan wouldn't increase the budget deficit and would add 340 billion in new revenue over the first 10 years.
Spear also cautioned Congress that not having a comprehensive infrastructure bill has led to an increase in toll roads and borrowed money from foreign governments.
“You have toll rates up to $47 for just one 10-mile trip. Rhode Island is using a loophole in federal law to discriminate against trucks by charging a truck-only toll on more than a dozen bridges,” said Spear. “And some are promoting the ...Read the rest of this story
Photo of electric plug on NPR courtesy of Isuzu.
">Isuzu Commercial Truck of America showed a battery-electric N-Series cabover at the Work Truck Show that's now serving as a research vehicle to allow the manufacturer to gauge interest from fleets who would use the truck for certain applications.
The regular cab NPR has been equipped with battery technology that's still under development and would be rated as a class 5 vehicle with a 19,500 groww vehicle weight rating (GVWR). The vehicle at the show was modified by Nordresa, a Laval, Quebec, Canada company that manufacturs electrified powertrains for commercial vehicles.
"Isuzu continues to develop and grow in order to support a new generation of transportation needs and address escalating customer requests for a potential electrical truck," said Shaun Skinner, president of Isuzu Commercial Truck of America and Isuzu Commercial Truck of Canada. "Commercial truck customer needs vary by market."
The company has begun discussions with its fleet customers who have requested a battery-electric cabover, Skinner said.
"By deploying this truck that utilizes an EV system engineered by one of the North American companies we are working with, and other companies with different electrical systems, we will be able to develop the right trucks for our customers' needs," Skinner said. "There is no doubt that all-electric trucks are part of the future of commercial vehicles; they are part of our future as well."
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