Posted on 06/25/2010 3:33:50 AM PDT by Willie Green
Duke University analysis of U.S. rail manufacturing shows that Pennsylvania has 26 rail manufacturing facilities, from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia
The U.S. rail manufacturing industry stands to undergo considerable growth in the coming years, as Amtrak upgrades its railcars and adds high-speed trains, and as lawmakers consider a transportation bill that calls for significantly greater investments in public transit, including rail, according to a new study by Duke University prepared for the Apollo Alliance. Pennsylvania, which is home to 26 rail-manufacturing facilities and is planning its own high-speed rail network, would reap major benefits from such a bill.
"Our research found that there is a healthy chain of U.S.-based suppliers that manufacture components and systems for rail cars, and many of them are located in Pennsylvania," said Marcy Lowe, a senior research analyst at the Duke University Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness (CGGC) and the report's lead author.
The report, U.S. Manufacture of Rail Vehicles for Intercity Passenger Rail and Urban Transit: A Value Chain Analysis, looks at the manufacture of U.S. rail vehicles in six categories: intercity passenger, high speed, regional, metro, light rail and streetcars. It finds that the U.S. rail supply chain includes at least 247 manufacturing locations in 35 states. The states with the most manufacturing facilities are New York (32 rail manufacturing facilities), Pennsylvania (26), Illinois (23), California (22) and Ohio (13). Although the U.S. rail manufacturing industry is small -- the report's authors estimate its employment at between 10,000 and 14,000 employees -- industry analysts expect it to grow due to pent-up demand for intercity and urban rail service.
"Pennsylvania has a real chance to be at the center of America's 21st century rail manufacturing industry," said Phil Angelides, chairman of the Apollo Alliance. "Our nation needs a new transportation policy that invests in expanded public transit and more energy-efficient transportation, including rail. Done right, these investments could mean a windfall of manufacturing jobs for Pennsylvanians."
Another study released today, by Transportation for America and the Economic Policy Institute, finds that a $500B transportation bill that invests heavily in public transit will create 7.2 million jobs across the economy, including 761,321 manufacturing jobs, of which 168,024 jobs would be located in the rail manufacturing sector. For more information, visit www.t4america.org.
The Duke University rail study found that manufacturers with facilities in Pennsylvania are Bombardier Transportation (Pittsburgh); Brookville Equipment (Brookville); Hyundai Rotem (Philadelphia); Kasgro Rail (New Castle); GE Transportation (Erie and Grove City); Amsted Industries (Camp Hill); Ansaldo STS USA (Pittsburgh); Bentech (Philadelphia); CAM Innovation Inc (Hanover); Converteam Inc (Pittsburgh); Mitsubishi Electric (Pittsburgh); North American Specialty Glass (Trumbauersville); ORX Railway (Tipton); Penn Machine Company (Blairsville); PHW (East Pittsburgh); Standard Steel (Pittsburgh and Burnham); USSC Group (Exton); UTC Rail Inc (Morton); Westcode Inc (Wilmerding and Greensburg); WEXCO Industries (Philadelphia); Young Windows (Conshohocken); and ZF Sachs Automotive of America (Pittsburgh). They produce a variety of equipment, including driving control systems, door systems, engines and windows.
A similar study on transit bus manufacturing released by Duke researchers in October 2009 identified eight transit bus-manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania. These companies also would benefit from increased public transit investments in a new transportation bill.
The report's authors conclude that to grow the U.S. rail manufacturing industry will require committing much larger and more consistent U.S. investments to intercity passenger and urban transit rail. The report also recommends that Buy America provisions be improved through additional accountability mechanisms and the closing of loopholes. Finally, it recommends that policymakers and manufacturers implement measures to capture higher-value activities in the supply chain, such as design and engineering, for the U.S. market. Currently those activities are mostly performed abroad.
I agree with you 100%. If that high speed line to NYc was built with 5-10 stop then express though NJ would be a great idea. Don’t know how the local residents would like a population growth of 500,000 people exiting NYc area to live in Poconos region.
Ive been waiting for that line for many years to move out of NY and be able to work in NY. I can keep dreaming.
Northeast PA will see real estate values explode if they ever restore that rail service!
Let’s all rush out and break a window to stimulate the economy !
Pissing away money on loser trains is just as stupid.
Break a train window and get a twofer.
I don’t give a sh*t about your facts;
I doubt if you care about any facts at all.
my own eyes tell me your ‘facts’ aren’t the whole story.
And I wasn’t the only one to point that out.
I know. People put on parisan blinders and only see what they're told to see.
Mass transit projects cannot pay for themselves and are a net drain on tax revenues.I'm familiar with the talking point.
3,200 a day. Whooo hoo! A small town school bus company does that.What kind of adult would want to ride a school bus from Portland to Seattle???
An average jetliner making that short hop only carries 200 people (only 50~75 if you fly in one of those little "puddle jumper" commuter planes)
So Amtrak is carrying the equivalent of 16 flights/day (42~64 flights for the dinky planes)
Put in proper context, that is a respectable amount of business.
Tell me again how train systems requiring large-scale government subsidies for fares and capital improvements meet any SANE definition of 'efficient'.
Hint, they don't.
There is no pent up consumer demand for rail service. Why would there be? If demand existed in the first place, the market would have met it.
Do not fall for justifications of passenger rail subsidies with phony economic blather. They're as fake as claims that cap-and-trade is a market solution to pollution.
Willie, if you really think mass transit boondoggles are not a waste, try coming to town and looking at that giant useless tunnel they’re digging under the Allegheny.
BTW, PAT is again claiming it has no funds to operate its normal routes and must raise fares and cut services.
It'll be a good thing to get the PAT buses off the downtown streets.
The streets are all too narrow, and the buses don't fit well with other downtown traffic.
That'll not only provide much higher ridership for the "T", it'll get even more of those PAT buses off those narrow Downtown streets!
What they oughta do is declare bankruptcy, get out of their onerous union contracts and pensions, and try to live within their means. I understand some subsidy as necessary for the betterment of society. But you don’t need to waste a billion dollars on a capital project just because Uncle Sucker is willing to match funds.
But you don’t need to waste a billion dollars on a capital project just because Uncle Sucker is willing to match funds.
I understand where the City of Pittsbugh would be it the Government hadn't helped finance the Parkway East, West and (gag) North, the Squirrel Hill, Fort Pitt and Liberty Tubes, the airport, the locks and dams on the rivers, and... well, do you really want me to start listing all the bridges that the private sector didn't pay for?
It's the stolen from who are the losers.
Considering that the cost of punching a tunnel 500 yards under the Allegheny is at $600 million right now and increasing every day, how much tax money will it take for a 3 mile long tunnel?
The Pittsburgh subway is a sad joke Willie and PAT is a damn criminal enterprise.
Government sponsored thieves nearly always benefit from other peoples money.
It's the stolen from who are the losers.
Flat out welfare, kill it!
“Keep in mind that trucking companies get a huge subsidy in that they don’t own and maintain the roads.”
The sure do in fuel taxes and all trucks over 12k pay a hefty federal road use fee every year. They also have to pay fees in every state they operate in.
You drive your car across the country without paying anything, a truck pays every time they cross a state line.
“Keep in mind that trucking companies get a huge subsidy in that they don’t own and maintain the roads.”
The sure do in fuel taxes and all trucks over 12k pay a hefty federal road use fee every year. They also have to pay fees in every state they operate in.
You drive your car across the country without paying anything, a truck pays every time they cross a state line.
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