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AgTEC COALITION ANNOUNCES TRUCK WEIGHT
REFORM INITIATIVE
RELEASE: December 10, 2008
CONTACT: Neil Ward (301/838-9385)
nward@forestresources.org
Washington, DC – The Agricultural
Transportation Efficiency Coalition (AgTEC) announced its legislative
mission for the 111th Congress at a news conference this morning at the
National Press Club.
The Agricultural Transportation Efficiency Coalition is a coalition of
over sixty associations and businesses seeking to improve the efficiency
of transporting raw agricultural and forest commodities from farms and
forests to processing facilities. AgTEC’s key issue is to reform truck
weight limits on America’s federal highway system.
According to AgTEC Chairman Mike Branch, of Smurfit-Stone Container
Corporation, “AgTEC advocates increasing the overall gross vehicle weight
limits of vehicles transporting raw agricultural and forest commodities on
federal highways not to exceed 97,000 pounds, and adjusting the federal
bridge formula for axle weights to achieve this goal.”
Noting that an increase in load limits on federal highways would improve
safety and traffic congestion, since it would draw heavy traffic away from
state and county roads and away from intersections in population centers,
Branch also pointed out, “There has been much discussion of the need for
the U.S. to invest in our roads and bridges. The message of the
Agricultural Efficiency Coalition is that we cannot support transportation
infrastructure investment, financially, unless we also improve our ability
to use that infrastructure more efficiently.”
The Coalition will advocate this reform within the 2009 Highway
Reauthorization Bill, which Congress is scheduled to take up early in the
2009 legislative calendar.
According to Richard Lewis, President of the Forest Resources Association,
a founding member of the Coalition, “For the forest industry alone, adding
a sixth axle to an existing truck and increasing its gross vehicle weight
limit by 17,000 pounds would reduce miles driven by 69.5 million and save
13.9 million gallons of diesel. Braking distance would not be affected,
and road wear would be reduced.”
He stated, “We need this reform for fuel conservation, emissions
reduction, productivity, safety, and to prevent the continued loss of U.S.
jobs to other countries.”
For more information, visit
www.ag-haul.org.
The Agricultural Transportation Efficiency Coalition is composed of over
60 associations and businesses committed to improving the efficiency of
transporting raw, unprocessed agricultural and forest products from farms
and forests to processing facilities.
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Inc. (FRA)
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FRA National office telephone: 301/838-9385
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