Position Title: Transportation Specialist, GS-2101-13 / 14 CAH (Open to US Citizens)

Job Announcement Number: FHWA.HOP-2013-0010

APM Terminals, Portsmouth, VA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Open Period: Friday, January 11, 2013 to Monday, January 21, 2013

Duty Locations: Washington, DC, US

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen.

There is an open position for a Transportation Specialist assigned to the Office of Freight Management and Operations, in the Office of Operations of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Within a team environment, the Transportation Specialist is recognized as a national expert in developing and delivering a freight-related programs and initiatives program. This includes working closely with the public sector at all levels of government and the affected industry sectors to conceptualize and implement this programs and initiatives. You will be considered an expert in the field of intermodal freight operations and will have the ability to manage technology-based programs; and will serve as lead for activities related to integration of freight into transportation infrastructure and operational improvements. You will serve as the lead for public sector freight transportation activities, programs and initiatives throughout the United States and with Canada and Mexico and our partners in other countries of the world.

The ideal candidate is a mid-career to senior professional with knowledge and experience in transportation and intermodal freight operations, with knowledge of supply chain logistics, the economic factors that drive industry liaisons and drive business relationships, and intergovernmental relations as conducted with other Federal, State, MPO and multi-jurisdictional entities. For complete information and to apply, click here.

(via Reddit )

(Source:  New York Times – Wheels Blog)

There has been a lot of talk this year about American cars. Bailout money has gone to companies with the goal of preserving the jobs of Americans who make American cars. Legislators have debated cash-for-clunker bills that would provide incentives for buying new American cars. Foreign investments have been scrutinized to see whether they would further the goal of producing more American cars.

So what’s an American car?

In today’s economy, propped up by global investments and free-trade zones, it isn’t so easy to tell. As Cheryl Jensen points out in her introduction to ournew interactive resource detailing where cars and trucks are made in North America, “Which is the more American product, a Honda Accord built by Ohioans for a company with its headquarters in Japan, or a Ford Fusion built in Mexico for a corporation that is based in Michigan?”

Indeed, under the North American Free Trade Agreement, vehicles built in Canada and Mexico can be considered “domestic.” So don’t tell your flag-waving super-patriot neighbor that his Chevy Impala, the one with the “Buy American” bumper sticker, came from Ontario.

To help cut through some of this confusion, we’ve put together an interactive map that lists every model built in the United States (with separate lists for Canada and Mexico). If you click the model name, you’ll see where it was assembled, whether that plant is unionized and whether the engines and transmissions are from the U.S. as well.

This information, gathered by Ms. Jensen, is up to date as of this weekend, but will of course be changing as automakers like G.M. close more plants, eliminate some models and shift production around. The Times will work to keep this resource up to date in the coming months.

If you’ve ever wondered where that car came from, now you can know.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: AP via Yahoo News & CNN)

Fears of stalled commerce and travel didn’t materialize at U.S. border crossings Monday as people stayed home or were gently warned on the first day of stricter identification requirements for Americans returning from Mexico and Canada.

Traffic generally moved smoothly as those without proper identification stayed home or immigration officials let them pass through with a reminder to get a passport or other accepted ID.

Those crossing the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge in South Texas described the light traffic Monday morning as normal, with cars and pedestrians facing short lines.

“There was nothing. Everything is all right,” said Yvonne Rivera, a U.S. citizen who lives in Reynosa, Mexico, and commutes to work in Texas. The 22-year-old said she got her passport in anticipation of the rule change.

There were some hiccups.

Rosario Aragon said she got into a heated, 30-minute discussion with a border agent demanding a passport for her 9-year-old girl, even though U.S. and Canadian children under the age of 16 only have to present a birth certificate.

The agent at an El Paso crossing let her through after taking her daughter’s name and warning her to get an official ID from local police.

“I’m angry because he held us up for 30 minutes,” the U.S. citizen said after she crossed into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

The new security rules for land and sea border crossings require U.S. citizens to show a passport, passport card or enhanced driver’s license, which use a microchip to store a person’s information. Some citizens may also use a trusted traveler document, which require background checks and are generally used by peoplecrossing the border regularly for business.

At the busiest passenger crossing along the northern border, the Peace Bridge between Buffalo, N.Y., andFort Erie, Ontario, traffic flowed smoothly with Customs and Border Protection officers reporting a 95 percent compliance rate with the new ID requirement. The Peace Bridge handled 8.9 million autos and 47,100 commercial buses in 2008.

Jessica Whitaker of London, Ontario, didn’t have a passport but was allowed in to the U.S. after showing her birth certificate and driver’s license. “They were very nice, very polite,” she said.

Kevin Corsaro, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman in Buffalo, N.Y., said it’s been a “routine Monday” with officers seeing a compliance rate as high as 95 percent throughout the Buffalo field office.

“We want to see 100 percent but we know that will take some time,” he said. “We won’t refuse entry to a Canadian if their only violation is they are noncompliant today, as long as we can verify their citizenship.”

The new rules for land and sea ports under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative were supposed to have gone into effect in 2008 but were delayed a year over concerns about the impact on commerce. The requirement for re-entering the country by air went into effect in 2007.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: USDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics)

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 – Surface transportation trade between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 27.2 percent lower in January 2009 than in January 2008, dropping to $47.5 billion, the biggest year-to-year percentage decline on record, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (Table 1).  The $47.5 billion in U.S.-NAFTA trade in January 2009 was the lowest monthly amount since January 2004. 

 The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico fell 10.3 percent in January from December (Table 2).  Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.

Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline.  About 88 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves on land.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in January was up 3.9 percent in the five-year period compared to January 2004, and up 31.6 percent over the 10-year period compared to January 1999 (Table 3).  Imports in January were up 26.4 percent compared to January 1999, while exports were up 38.1 percent. 

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $29.0 billion in January, down 31.1 percent compared to January 2008 (Table 4).  The value of imports carried by truck was 31.3 percent lower in January 2009 compared to January 2008, while the value of exports carried by truck was 27.2 percent lower.

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S.–Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $18.5 billion in January, down 20.0 percent compared to January 2008 (Table 6).  The value of imports carried by truck was 20.5 percent lower in January 2009 than January 2008 while the value of exports carried by truck was 10.7 percent lower.        

Click here to read the entire report in HTML or click here to download the report in PDF.  A read-only version of the PDF file is provided here:

(Source: Autoblog; Photo: Benjamin Davidson@ Flickr)

Not surprisingly, officials from the Canadian and Ontario governments have followed the U.S. government’s leadby officially rejecting the restructuring plans of General Motors and Chrysler. The Canadian officials said the automakers’ current plans do not go far enough and will not be certified as they are. In fact, they’re basically copying and pasting the new deal for automakers announced by the U.S. government today, saying that GM has 60 days to redo its plan while receiving a portion of the C$3 billion it requested and Chrysler has 30 days to finalize its partnership with Fiat while receiving C$250 million of the C$1 billion it requested.  Click here read more.

(Source: USDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics)

Surface transportation trade between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 4.1 percent higher in 2008 than in 2007, reaching $830 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.  The 4.1 percent rate of growth was the smallest year-to-year growth rate since 2003 (Table 1).

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), reported that surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico grew 8.6 percent during the first six months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.  It declined 0.3 percent in the final six months and 9.4 percent in the October-to-December period compared to 2007. For 2008 data by month, see the BTS December North American Surface Freight press release athttp://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2009/bts010_09/html/bts010_09.html

Total North American surface transportation imports rose 2.7 percent in 2008 from 2007, and exports rose by 5.9 percent during the same period (Table 2). 

In 2008, 86 percent of U.S. merchandise trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land.   Total North American surface transportation trade value in 2008 was up 47.5 percent compared to 2003, and up 83.7 percent compared to 1998, a period of 10 years (Table 3). 

Click here to read the entire press release or click here to download the PDF report.  Shown below is the “Read-only” version of the PDF report.

 (Source: National Post, Canada; Photo: bensonkua@ Flickr)

Organizers for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics have unveiled their $157-million transportation plan for the event.