Today’s Pickup: German politician wants to boost truck tolls for rail

Jung offered few details about his proposal. But it comes as Germany’s federal governing coalition prepares legislation to meet its 2030 climate change targets.

It seems likely that any legislation will have a significant impact on transport, a sector that Chancellor Angela Merkell has called a “problem child.” 

Did you know?

Texas state, county and city governments approved almost $36 million to get Uber to open an office in Dallas. 

Quotable:

“A group of pirates boarded the vessel and abducted eight of our 12 crew members from the vessel.” 

– German shipping company MC-Schiffahrt on the abduction of crewmembers from its vessel MarMalaita anchored off Douala, Cameroon. 

In other news:

Autonomous truck firm PlusAI set to raise $200 million

Silicon Valley’s PlusAI is poised to raise an additional $200 million, with a valuation over $1 billion, to boost the development of its autonomous trucks. (Bloomberg)

DHL inks air freight deal with Komatsu

DHL reached a multi-year agreement with Komatsu to import spare parts for its mining operations in Australia and New Zealand. (Air Cargo News)  

Pembina to buy Kinder Morgan’s Canadian unit, U.S. portion of pipeline

Pembina plans to pay $3.3 billion for Kinder Morgan’s Canadian business and the U.S. section of the Cochin oil pipeline. (Financial Post)

Protesting truckers push lawmakers to ban autonomous trucks in Missouri

Truck drivers assembled at the Missouri state capital to urge lawmakers to ban autonomous commercial vehicles from the road. (News Tribune)

Trucker blames dog on road for crash that killed a family of five

A trucker testified in a wrongful death suit that he was swerving to avoid a dog in the road when he collided with an SUV on an Alabama highway, killing five. An expert, however, blamed the crash on sleep deprivation. (WLTZ TV)

NASA eyes private space cargo ships to supply moon outpost

NASA is seeking proposals from private firms to supply the station that would serve as an outpost for its return to the moon. (Space)

Final thoughts:

Despite overall declines in other industries, Germany’s transportation sector generated more emissions in 2017 than it did in 1990, according to data from the Federal Environment Agency.

With that in mind, it’s understandable that politicians are looking for ways to reign in the environmental impact of trucking. 

But collecting money from trucking to support rail as Jung suggested seems problematic considering that a train can’t capable of the same level of precision in deliveries. 

Redirecting that money to support zero or low emissions trucks sounds like a more practical approach – and one that rewards the industry for improving itself.

Hammer down everyone!