Texas shippers press for heavier container trucks

The Texas Coalition for Transportation Productivity has thrown its support behind state legislation to increase weight limits for trucks transporting ocean containers.    The Texas Coalition for Transportation Productivity said it supports state legislation to increase the weight limits for trucks transporting ocean containers.
   The coalition warns that without the legislation (HB 3061) Texas ports risk losing business because the state’s port shipping regulations lag behind most other states.
   The bill, which was introduced by State Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, would increase the state vehicle weight limit only for six-axle trucks carrying ocean containers. “The required additional (sixth) axle provides Texas with added safety and infrastructure benefits, as most states allow five-axle trucks to carry heavier containers,” the coalition said.
   “Texas ports are facing unprecedented opportunities created by the Panama Canal expansion and shale oil boom, but the state’s outdated truck weight regulations are jeopardizing this growth,” said Tony Bennett, president of the Texas Association of Manufacturers and a member of the coalition. “Many companies are currently looking at alternatives to Texas ports because virtually every other port state in the nation allows trucks to carry more productive shipping containers.”
   The coalition noted that the six-axle truck configuration contained in HB 3061 has been proven safe throughout the world. Research by the U.S. Transportation Department, the Transportation Research Board, several state DOTs, and other academic and governmental research bodies have validated its safety and efficiency. The State of Maine, which gave higher productivity, six-axle trucks Interstate access in 2011, has experienced its lowest highway fatality rate in 70 years, the Texas coalition noted.
   Other members of the coalition are Americold Transportation Services, Domtar, Excargo Services, ExxonMobil Chemical, Frontier Logistics, Georgia-Pacific, Hawthorne Global/E R Hawthorne & Co., Houston Refrigerated Logistics, Intermodal Chassis Resources, Katoen Natie, Louisiana-Pacific Corp., MeadWestvaco, Nestle’ Waters, New Orleans Cold Storage, Packwell, Pan Asian Chemicals, Preferred Freezer Services, Recoup Industries, Texas Association of Business, Texas Chemical Council, Texas Oil & Gas Association, and Triton Global.