NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTERMODALISM: MAKING THE CASE, MAKING IT HAPPEN, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, DECEMBER 7-9, 1994. REPORT FROM THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION BY COMMISSION MEMBER THOMAS J. DONOHUE

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) established a National Commission on Intermodal Transportation to study the status of intermodal standardization, intermodal impacts on public works infrastructure, legal impediments to efficient intermodal transportation, financial issues, new technologies, problems in documenting intermodal transfers of freight, research and development needs, and the relationship of intermodal transportation to productivity. This paper presents a report on the work of the National Commission on Intermodal Transportation by Commission Member Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO of American Trucking Associations, Inc. Mr. Donohue comments on the commission's report and recent political and market realities that contradict or support it, and on the conference presentations. He notes, in particular, the following four recommendations: support for the National Highway System and intermodal connectors (roads that connect to a rail, air, or water terminal); coordination between transportation, environmental, and related health and regulatory policies; the application of new technology for processing freight across the United States-Mexico and United States-Canada international borders; and changes in the rules that govern federal and state procurement processes for transportation.