- Timothy Skud, deputy assistant secretary for tax, trade and tariff policy at the Treasury Department, missed the Nov. 15 meeting of the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee because of a longstanding commitment. The panel meets quarterly to provide industry input to the departments of Homeland Security and Treasury on cross-border customs and security issues. Skud’s assistant, Jeremy Baskin, attended in his stead and said Skud had a “Cal Ripkenesque streak of having not missed a COAC meeting in over a decade” — a reference to the former Baltimore Orioles great who once played in 2,632 consecutive professional baseball games. Skud wants to start another streak, Baskin said.
- The moderator reading UPS Chief Operating Officer David Abney’s biography while introducing him as a speaker at an infrastructure summit organized by the American Highway Users Alliance and The Volvo Group in Washington on Nov. 21 mentioned that Abney began his UPS career as a package driver in 1974, to which Abney, 60, quipped: “What you didn’t say is, back in 1974, UPS had this special policy where they actually hired 10 year olds.”
- Noting that UPS will deliver an estimated 29 million packages on Dec. 17, its busiest shipping day of the year, Abney said: “So this myth that Santa Claus wears red just could not be any further from the truth.
“He definitely wears brown. By the way, that beard’s got to go.” (UPS has an appearance code prohibiting beards except for medical or religious reasons.) - Traffic congestion is a big concern for transportation providers. That is why UPS uses route planning software and is vocal about the need for federal policymakers to invest wisely in network maintenance and capacity enhancements for all modes. Abney said congestion impacts his life in Atlanta. He has a 25-mile commute that takes about 45 minutes if he leaves home by 6:15 a.m.
“And I’m thinking, we aren’t commuting. But then my daughter’s family moved right next to my office and all of a sudden my wife’s making the trip to see the grandkids. And she goes, ‘This commute is killing me.’ So we did [move].”
