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November 30, 1999 9:58 AM, EST

SAN ANTONIO — Shippers attending the 92nd annual meeting of the National Industrial Transportation League got a sobering message about how they do business from truckers, drivers and peers: If they don’t shape up, their freight won’t get shipped out.

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“Our No. 1 issue is improving productivity at the shipping and receiving docks,” said Marty Tendler, vice president of transportation for Ralston Purina Co., St. Louis. “We’ve made a lot of productivity improvements in this country, but when we get down to basics, drivers are waiting 30 hours a week at the loading docks. It’s very, very serious.”

Waiting time is just one of the many issues affecting productivity now or looming on the horizon, NITL attendees said. Other issues include changes being planned by the Department of Transportation in the number of hours truck drivers can work; pending Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations that could limit workers’ exposure to repetitive motions such as steering a truck or lifting a box; and a lack of consensus within trucking on whether to support longer or heavier trucks.

“Productivity has plateaued,” said Donald J. Schneider, president of Schneider National, Green Bay, Wis., citing the lack of changes in truck size and weight since the early 1980s, dock waiting time and a national driver shortage. “Without improved productivity, the nation will run out of capacity to move freight, resulting in a stagnant economy.”

For the full story, see the Nov. 29 print edition of Transport Topics. .