Last week, Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Associations, authored an op-ed in The Daily Caller. In the op-ed, Spear warns that government regulations in the freight industry stifle economic growth and drive up transportation costs that ultimately get passed onto customers and American families. He goes onto remind us that trucking, one of freight rail’s biggest customers, is a critical transportation service in our communities:
“Over 80 percent of communities in this country rely solely on trucks to deliver their goods. By way of contrast, 78 percent of rail freight stations are captive to a single railroad and, in more than half the states, at least 90 percent of stations are captive to just one railroad.”
Spear concludes that trucking and rail industries cannot operate without one another to meet consumer demand in a growing economy, “All modes can and should unify to the benefit of the nation.”
We couldn’t agree more. And that’s why Washington should get behind smart policies to support healthy competition and improve transportation services, including modernizing trucking equipment standards.
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