The interstate transport system will see some changes with the awarding of $8 billion worth of high-speed rail grants. The money being spent will help freight rail companies, as part of the money will be spent improving the tracks which will help both passenger and freight rail service in those areas. However, there are areas of the trucking industry that will be helped as well.
Since faster freight rail service will involve containerized shipping, container trucking firms will be aided. Intermodal facilities will be given a boost as well, as trucking logistics will be moved away from pure trucking and to a truck-train blend. That will be even more the case if the president gets his wish and sees exports double in the next five years; most of those goods would head overseas via containers.
Another trucking boost will be to trucking firms who make local runs along the highways paralleling the high-speed rail lines. President Obama was in Tampa for his announcement today, where a new Tampa-to-Orlando line is being built. Trucks that have to use I-4 between the two cities will be aided, since a lot of car traffic will be taken off the highway and onto the rail lines, possibly allowing the Malfunction Junction of I-4 and I-275 in Tampa to function for a change.
Delivering supplies for the projects will be another boost for trucking; out of that $8 billion, a few billion will be in the form of steel, concrete and other supplies, and most of that will arrive by truck.
Thus, what seems to be a boon to freight rail can be a blessing for trucking as well, for there will be a number of plusses to an improved rail system for the trucking industry.
Sources:http://www.joc.com/node/416331
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte…0012704921.html