Metro Magazine

SEP-OCT 2014

Magazine serving the bus and rail transit & motorcoach operations since 1904

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Improved reliability paired with performance and power – that's what you'll get with the industry leading ISL G natural gas engine. Available factory-direct from bus manufacturers and backed by the Cummins distribution and service network for local parts, training, and warranty support. 250 – 320 hp / 730 – 1000 lb-ft torque Maintenance-free aftertreatment Lower total fuel costs Learn more at cumminswestport.com Getting Better All the Time 22 < m ETRO m AGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 metro-magazine.com standard works. Those who argue there is evidence that companies have often exceeded the 60% threshold for many procurements during the past decade and can comply with higher targets ignore why they did so. It wasn't because of any procurement mandates or incentives, but because of market forces, opportunities and busi- ness decisions made aside from any procurement processes. For those who waivers, the higher proposed domestic content thresholds will likely only gen- erate more waiver requests. This is be- cause, unlike non-U.S. markets, Amer- ican bus and railcar manufacturing is fundamentally constrained, not only by the component availability issues raised above, but also by component specifca- tions of their agency customers. Because of these factors, cost increases and procurement delays are inevitable if proposals set too high a bar for U.S. con- tent. An overly restrictive Buy America policy also makes innovation more dif- ficult, if technology transfer from other countries becomes more restrictive with higher U.S. content mandates. And, con- tent mandates will also trigger a series performance re-testing measures that are also mandated by the transit agen- cies, which could lead to delivery delays, costs increases or both. According to one manufacturer's estimate replacing sup- pliers with proper testing and validation can take between five to seven years in cite purchases that are recently funded by the Federal Railroad Administra- tion, there are too many differences in that process to list here. Moreover, the very same favorable market forces men- tioned above could in the future also turn unfavorable, and thus act to put pressure on manufacturers' ability to meet even the 60% requirements — as they have at some times in the past. For those who want to stem the tide of BUY AMERICA BUY AMERICA Annual Rolling Stock Markets by Region, Current and Projections to 2016 Region 2008-10 2011-13 2014-16 billion dollars Europe 12.9 14.0 14.8 China 11.6 11.5 9.2 North America 3.7 11.5 9.2 CIS, including Russia 2.5 3.7 4.7 Latin America 1.8 1.0 1.4 India 1.4 1.9 2.3 Asia-Pacifc* 1.8 2.3 2.5 * Excluding China and India. Source: Worldwatch Institute, 2010

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