NIT LEAGUE CONSIDERS OPENING REGULAR MEMBERSHIP TO CARRIERS

NIT LEAGUE CONSIDERS OPENING REGULAR MEMBERSHIP TO CARRIERS    If a proposed change in the membership rules goes through, the National Industrial Transportation League may no longer be the “voice of the shipper,” but would become the “voice of the freight transportation industry.”
   The NIT League’s board of directors has proposed opening the nearly century-old shipper group’s membership to carriers. This proposal is part of the NIT League’s Vision 2020 plan to increase membership and further stimulate transportation legislative activity on Capitol Hill.
   “Many members have indicated their support and it’s about time we do this,” said Thomas R. Rakin, manager of logistics and travel for Allegheny Technologies, and first vice chairman of the NIT League board. This is a time to “build bridges and close some gaps” between shippers and carriers.
   The NIT League asserts that the move is neither caused by financial trouble nor by a severe drop in membership, although membership has declined some in recent years due to acquisitions and mergers among shippers.
   Under the plan, the NIT League would expand membership, eliminate the status of associate membership, and create a new category of membership for academics and consultants.
   Some shippers expressed deep concern about opening the membership to carriers. “Bringing the carriers into this would weaken our position,” said a shipper during the NIT League’s business meeting in Charlotte, N.C. Monday. “This is a bad time to start consolidating our power base.”
   There is a concern that some shippers might defect to other shipper associations. “We’re always concerned about losing members over anything we do,” said Van L. Hayes Jr., manager of transportation support services for Vulcan Materials Co., and chairman of the NIT League. “But this is a democratic organization.”
   The full NIT League board is expected to consider the proposed membership rules as early as Wednesday. If it goes forward, the NIT League’s regular members would vote on the proposal in January. “We’ll put it to a vote and the majority will rule,” Hayes said.