In the late ’70s I worked warehouse and delivery for wholesale building materials distributor Rice Supply, then located in the old brewery building that existed where Victoria Place in Eureka is now. I drove a 20-foot flatbed over to Humboldt Loaders in Arcata to pick up weekly orders from the home office in San Rafael shipped here by freight train. Seems primitive now and when Reagan deregulated freight, we switched to using trucks almost overnight.
We used both large commercial and local contract freight carriers. The local guys would build relationships with clients that needed goods shipped to the San Francisco Bay Area and then pick-up goods for companies that needed products from the Bay Area, called a backhaul. Because locals didn’t want to come back empty, the rates for backhaul were considerably less than commercial carriers and still are. This helps startups and smaller operations to compete, sustain and often grow.
So, let’s take a look at the economic picture 40 years on, and consider whether there is any public benefit at this time or the foreseeable future. For example, we know the big boxes will benefit, but is it likely that will generate any raises or expansions of their operations here on the north coast? Sun Valley Farms already has something like 90% of the lily bulb market worldwide. So again, is it likely that would generate raises or more employment. In addition SR299 is open for STAA trucks, which means some local truckers have probably lost their jobs here.
How are the largest trucks allowed on the Federal Highway System going to get to businesses that are off the 101 Corridor? Look out if you’re in their allowed community access routes. Some common carriers here bring in 28 ft. doubles that can be comparatively easily maneuvered through our towns.
When it comes to refrigerated freight trucks, as the blood bank requires, whether STAA or not, have experienced a shortage in recent years. You can imagine the shortages in refrigerated trucks that are moving the vaccine all over the country now.
Perhaps most significant, the liability insurance rates for these STAA over-size trucks have gone through the roof in recent years due to increasing catastrophic accidents leading to loss of goods and lives.
By the way, Caltrans 101 project through Richardson Grove does NOT straighten out the curve. The purpose is to enable two STAA trucks to pass in opposite directions without sideswiping each other. As Caltrans has admitted, “this is not a safety project per se.”
And to add insult to injury, with the advances in AV and drone technology applied to logistics, if Caltrans’ project moves forward, it will likely be obsolete before it is even finished.
Dave Spreen resides in Kneeland.
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January 03, 2021 at 02:07PM
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My Word | Do we really need big trucks, Caltrans? - Eureka Times-Standard
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