30
APRIL 2008
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TCI
Member Club & Industry Events
If you have an upcoming event and would like for me to get information
out to our 6000-plus members, send the info to me and I'll see
that it gets posted on this page. Send
your event info to me at mleonard@alliance.com.
Upcoming
club events that have brought to my attention include:
OUT and ABOUT...
Memphis
was the site for our April 2008 Mid Term Board Meeting
this year and I think it was one of our best meetings we have
had. A lot of issues were hammered out and we were able to make
other decisions that will be very beneficial to TCI members
in upcoming years.
A
special thanks to Ken Opperman of the Transportation
Club of Memphis, in arranging dinner between the attending
TCI Board members and the Officers and Board members of the
Memphis Club. It was our pleasure to get a chance to meet them
and enjoy a nice Italian dinner together.
The
Scholarship Committee decided at the meeting to extend
the Scholarship Application deadline until May 31,
instead of April 30. So, if you know an eligible student that
could use an extra $1500.00 -$2000.00 for school please have
them visit our Web site to learn how to submit
a scholarship application.
On
Saturday evening, we got to enjoy a night at the Memphis
Red Birds Baseball (St. Louis AAA minor league) game compliments
of DJ Railcar Services, Inc., and Alliance Shippers
Inc. It was a little cool but I think everyone had
a great time.
May
is the time for all of our local transportation clubs to shine.
As we all know, we will celebrate National Transportation
Week in May. I have heard from many of our clubs and
they are gearing up to get out and really stress to the pubic
how important our industry is to our country and to the world.
I'm looking forward to seeing all the clubs' scrapbooks
on display in Moncton in September.
If
you have ever wondered how National Transportation Week was
started, go to www.ntweek.org.
You will also see how The Texas Clubs and TCI played a part
in the national recognition of NTW.
This
Web site displays information and a 2008
TCI Annual Congress downloadable registration form for the
September conference in Moncton. If you check back, you
will see new information as we update our list of guest speakers.
Everything else is set and we are looking forward to visiting
the Canadian Maritime area. April is over and September
will be here before you know it. So make those plans TODAY!!!
Congratulations
to Betty Vernon, long time member of the Houston area
clubs. I've learned that Betty is going to retire at the
end of this month and take some time to enjoy life. Betty
has been a member of TCI for as long as I can remember. I
got involved in TCI in 1984 (only yesterday) and Betty was a
member then. Betty has been a great asset to our organization
over these many years. She has held numerous offices in
TCI over the years and I would like to take this time to thank
Betty for all of her help and most important, her friendship,
for these many years.
I
understand that she and Roy (her husband) plan to travel around
the country for a while and see the sights. Congratulations
again to Betty Vernon.
NTW 2008
National
Transportation Week will soon be upon us and TCI is encouraging
the member clubs to particapate, host, and plan NTW activities
in you area. We are also asking that you submit your club's
NTW scrapbook for the competition. Other information about
entering your club in the web site and newsletter competition
can be found here.
86th
TCI Annual Congress - Moncton NB Canada
As
the 86th
Annual Congress approaches, remember that your club needs
to send in its artwork and information for your Club Advertisements
in the 86th Annual Congress Magazine by June 15th. We also offer
business card ad space, if you as an individual would like to
advertise. If you have any questions about the 2008
Congress, contact TCI Executive Director Katy
Dejonge.
I
will mention this again: if you are planning to join us in
Moncton NB this September, you'll need a passport!
As
it was explained to me, you may not need one to get into Canada,
but you will definitely need one to return to the States. However,
if you're not actually planning to return to the States (like,
ever!), then you probably don't need one, and you can spend
all your money shopping in Moncton instead. If you choose
this option...we'll miss you...back in the States.
INDUSTRY
NEWS
AIRLINE
HIRES TEMPS TO FILL PLANE
Here's one for you. British air carrier FLYBE is paying
172 passengers to fly back and forth across England and the
Irish Sea to help it meet a target for passenger numbers at
the Norwich airport. FLYBE is trying to deliver at least
15,000 passengers on the Dublin-Norwich route in the 12 months
ending in April so that it can collect a $500,000 rebate from
the airport. The airline paid the temps a small fee and
included a free bar and in-flight entertainment. Now that's
a pretty good part-time job!
AG GROUP CLAIMS PORT FEES COULD CRIPPLE EXPORTS
Port-imposed
container fees could cripple US agricultural exports, which
already face stiff price competition in global markets, according
to and organization that represents exporters of farm products.
The immediate concern of the Agriculture Transportation
Coalition is a proposal by the port of Oakland to impose a container
fee for infrastructure development and environmental initiatives.
Oakland is developing the details of its program and could
finalize the plan this summer. "Agriculture can't
absorb per-container fees", said Peter Friedmann, a Washington,
D.C., attorney who serves as general counsel to the coalition.
In Southern California, the container fees will be charged
on top of existing fees for the Alameda Corridor rail route
and Pier Pass extended gate program. Friedmann said the
cumulative impact of such fees could eventually total $400 per
container. Agricultural exporters are opposed to a proliferation
of fees at ports across the country. Friedmann also said
that the national legislation proposed by Rep. Ken Calvert,
R-CA would ensure that low-margin products, such as AG exports,
would not be priced out of the global market.
TRUCKERS
BALK AT TWIC RULES
Some
truckers that haul dangerous articles say some shippers are
requiring that they get the new Federal Transportation Worker
Identification Credential, a substantial expansion of the ID
card that many say they cannot meet. The dispute between
truckers and hazardous materials shippers occurs at the intersection
of two federal security rules that are very similar but are
entirely different. Some shippers are demanding that drivers
have TWIC cards to meet the requirements for security background
checks under the recent Chemical Facility Safety Anti-Terrorism
Standards. Some drivers may not be able to obtain a TWIC
card, as some numbers of locations, processing TWIC applications,
are limited. Richard Moskowitz, an ATA vice president
is asking that HAZMAT shippers accept drivers with a commercial
driver's license that includes a HAZMAT materials endorsement.
FMC URGED TO BAR LA CLEAN-TRUCKS PLAN
The
ATA Intermodal division has urged the FMC to prevent what it
has termed an illegal trucking concession mechanism from being
enforced at the ports of Los Angels and Long Beach. The
proposed concession is the mechanism through which the ports
intend to manage their clean-trucks program to ensure that only
low-polluting 2007 model trucks or their equivalent be allowed
access to marine terminals. Under the clean-trucks plan
adopted by the Long Beach Harbor Commission, and a proposed
plan that the LA Harbor Commission is expected to adopt later
this month older, high-polluting vehicles will be progressively
banned from the harbor. After five years, the entire fleet
of about 16,000 trucks will be composed of model-year trucks
or their equivalent that meet strict air quality standards.
In order to gain access to marine terminals, licensed
motor carriers would have to sign a contract, or concession,
with the cities. The concession contains a number of restrictions
and requirements involving maintenance of the vehicles, the
availability of health insurance for drivers and a requirement
for approval from the cities before selling a trucking company,
among others. Los Angeles is expected to adopt an even
more restrictive clean-truck program that limits concessions
to licensed motor carriers that hire drivers as direct employees,
a provision requested by the Teamsters union and environment.
IRAQI
OIL
Iraqi
crude oil exports reached 56.1 million barrels in February with
increased revenues of $5.037 billion. The port of Basra
sent an average of 1.54 million barrels abroad a day and Kirkuk
exported nearly 390,000 barrels per day. Iraq's oil exports
rose 9.2% last year. Total exports in 2007 reached nearly 600
million barrels, an average of 1.6 million per day. Most
of the oil was exported from Basra. No data on how much
of this, if any, went to the U.S.
WORLD'S
FASEST CIVIL JET
In
March General Dynamics announced it's newest addition. They
will build the new Gulfstream G650, the world's fastest civil
jet, as it seeks a greater share of sales in Europe, Asia and
Latin America. The new G650 jet will have a maximum speed of
Mach .0925 which equates to a blazing 704-mph.
This
bird can fly from Los Angeles to New York in less than four
hours, or New York to London in less than six hours. If
you have an extra $58.5 million (starting price) on hand and
nerves of steel, go ahead and place
your order here. While you're at it, order two, and
give one to a friend. Some think you may need an
additional $58.5 million for fuel, but a friend of mine says
you can get by on an additional $30 million which makes it affordable
for... well, just about everyone. The first G650s
are expected to be "on the ramp" in early 2009.
Volvo
GREEN TRUCK
Volvo
recently unveiled a biogas and biodiesel truck at the Washington
International Renewable Energy Conference in Washington, D.C.
Volvo exhibited carbon-dioxide-neutral heavy-duty trucks
that operate on renewable fuels at the conference.
SPRING
MEANS GOLF
With
all the golf outings going on around the country with our TCI
member clubs, I thought I would give you this tid-bit of information
out in this months' Golf Digest magazine. A recent
study said the average American golfer walks about 900 miles
per year. Another study found that American golfers drink,
on average, 22 gallons of beer a year. So, on average,
American golfers get about 41 miles to the gallon.
If
that's the case, I'm a SUV; I don't get anywhere near that kind
of mileage!
Here's
a side note for you on beer. I was lucky enough to go
to a Jimmy Buffett Concert last night. Good old American
Beer was selling for $11.00 for 24 oz. That would equate
to $58.66 per gallon. His Land Shark beer was $7.00 for
12oz. That equates to $74.66 per gallon.
Gas
is starting to look like a bargain...
DONATE
to the TCI SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
At
the heart of TCI activities and events is the TCI Scholarship
Program. Member clubs can help underwrite the rising cost
of a college education for eligible, financially-challenged
students in the logistics and transportation fields.
The
form for TCI
Scholarship donations is on this web site for downloading.
Don't be shy, be first!
TCI
needs your club's assistance in positioning the scholarship
program to be sustainable and viable. TCI received more
than forty (40) applications in 2007 and at least half came
from clubs. Thanks to all that donated.
Every
cent of your donation goes directly into the TCI Scholarship
Fund. It helps either fund the scholarships or reduces
the amount of expenditures to get the scholarship winners to
conference. If any individual out there has some unused
airline mileage reward miles or Doubletree award points they
would like to donate, TCI would be extremely grateful.
Make
a donation today, and change a life forever.
CLUB NEWSLETTERS
If
your club publishes a newsletter, we'd like to provide access
to it at this site. Other clubs are always interested
in reading about member club's events and activities.
If
your newsletter is a component of your club Web site, send the
complete URL of the newsletter page to the TCI Web Manager at:
Club
Newsletters - URL
If
your newsletter is available in .pdf format, send it to the
TCI Web Manager at:
Club
Newsletters - .PDF
NEED
ALL MEMBER CLUB WEB SITE ADDRESSES
If
your club has a Web site, we'd like to know. Please send
your club's URL to the TCI Web Manager so we can include it
with your club contact information in the membership directory.
Send
your club URL to our webmaster at:
Club
Web Site URL
That's it for now. See you next month.
Kind regards,
Mack
Leonard
President, Transportation Clubs International
Alliance Shippers
233 East Autumn Ridge Road
Moore, S.C. 29369
Phone: 1-864-587-1818 Ext. 327
eMail: mleonard@alliance.com
