BRAZIL: USDOT/FHWA/AASHTO AND MINISTRY OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000289 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EB/TRA/OTP: SMILLER, DHAYWOOD DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR FHWA/HNEVARES, MAVERY USDOC FOR 4332/ITA/MAC/WH/OLAC/MCAMPOS USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USCS/OIO/WH/RD/DRAMBO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELTN ECON BEXP OTRA BR SUBJECT: BRAZIL: USDOT/FHWA/AASHTO AND MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION/ABDER'S CONTINUED "WIM-WIM" DIALOGUE AND INFO EXCHANGE ¶1. (U) Summary: On February 13, EconOff attended a digital videoconference (DVC) between representatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)'s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA),the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO),and their Brazilian counterparts, the Ministry of Transportation and the Associacao Brasileira dos Departamentos Estaduais de Estradas de Rodagem (ABDER) on Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) technology. The third DVC undertaken by this group to date, the WIM discussion built upon an already cordial, evolving relationship between the various entities. The ongoing dialogue is being coordinated by FHWA with assistance from a Michigan Tech-trained, Michigan Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) employee. A Brazilian citizen, the LTAP employee currently is based in the Brazilian state of Goias for the next several months. While not ostensibly focused on U.S. industry business opportunities, continued interactions could have commercial possibilities, especially with input and assistance from the U.S. Department of Commerce/Foreign Commercial Service. The next DVC, which FHWA and the Brazilian Ministry of Transportation and ABDER plan to hold sometime in March, will be on public-private partnerships--another hot topic of late on the U.S.-Brazil landscape. End summary. ¶2. (U) The first and second DVCs held between FHWA/AASHTO and ABDER, which took place in August and November, 2006, focused on U.S. highway structure and federal/state individual responsibilities. After the second DVC, one of the main GOB interlocutors told FHWA that a legislative bill pending in the Brazilian Congress since 1995 proposes a restructuring of the highway system. The bill includes an article which would allow the transfer of federal highway sections that did not fulfill certain criteria to the individual states. However, he said that for political reasons the bill had not been fully debated and that the Brazilians are in the process of updating it. He noted, "the ideas about federal/state institutional responsibilities of the American Highway System are also being considered as a model for the new legislative bill that is being developed." ¶3. (U) During the February 13 DVC, the U.S. side did the lion's share of the presentation. The content was mostly technical in nature, dealing with the specifics of how trucks are weighed on the highways, particularly via the method of "Weigh-in-Motion," or WIM. As the name implies, WIM involves weighing trucks while they are in motion, by having them roll over scales embedded in the highway or off-highway asphalt; calculating the vehicle weight based upon those scale readings; and simultaneously taking photos of the trucks' license plates in order to track the vehicles and issue any fines for overweight vehicles. Various U.S. state representatives discussed different styles of WIM systems, including their levels of accuracy. The U.S. representatives then discussed an "International Scan," pursuant to which 10 representatives from various U.S. states went to Europe to see how several countries handle weighing transport vehicles. An executive summary from that visit will be made available to the Brazilians. U.S. state representatives also candidly cautioned their Brazilian counterparts about the need for maintenance schedules and clauses to be worked into the procurement process so as to avoid any equipment malfunctions and lack of support later on. An example presented was a system in the U.S. in the 80s, for which the South African manufacturer did not later provide sufficient technical support to maintain the equipment. This led to the eventual loss of utility of the equipment and the subsequent procurement and adoption of another system. While at no time did any of the presenters advocate for any particular system, it became clear that the accuracy levels of some were superior to others, often with a corresponding increase in cost. ¶4. (U) The Brazilian presenter, an engineer who used a PowerPoint with embedded flow charts and photos, demonstrated the truck weighing system that is currently in place in Brazil, which includes 33 plate systems and 40 mobile systems. Most of the equipment used in Brazil is European-specifically, German-in origin. The Brazilian BRASILIA 00000289 002 OF 002 side mentioned neither costs nor maintenance, although post feels that those are certainly considerations for Brazil's ability to implement WIM on a grand scale. ¶5. (U) The Brazilians had a few additional questions, primarily about how the transport of liquid materials is handled and regulated in the U.S. (hazardous materials are handled separately, per the explanation) and how the states fund their WIM systems (via trust fund from gas taxes, was the answer). In addition, Brazilian attendees were interested in whether states have the authority to oversee the issuance of, and compliance with, a variety of transport permits. The U.S. presenters confirmed that U.S. states do not need permission from the Federal Government to oversee these issues, and fines and penalties for overweight or otherwise noncompliant vehicles are issued by the state and/or local systems. ¶6. (U) U.S. interlocutors noted that the most sophisticated system is not always the best system to meet a customer's individual needs, and again said that most states include maintenance as part of the procurement process, having learned from prior experience that to not do so would be detrimental. One such interlocutor stressed the need to test the equipment daily, "not just weekly or monthly," to ensure accuracy and to make sure that maintenance was regularly performed. ¶7. (U) Information was also briefly shared on seaport containers and weighing those containers upon arrival in port and before ground transportation, using the Florida DOT as a reference point and with the stated goal of minimizing the subsequent impact on roads of oversize loads. Brazilian participants indicated that Brazil is attempting to do the same function in conjunction with the federal customs police. Finally, the U.S. participants questioned how the rest of Latin America deals with WIM, and Brazil cited Chile as a "reference point" (standard) for the region. ¶8. (U) Next steps in the FHWA/AASHTO and Ministry of Transportation/ABDER partnership will be another DVC, tentatively planned for March, on public-private partnerships. Brazil will take the lead on this DVC and do most of the presenting, and the U.S. representatives indicated that they are looking forward to learning from Brazil's experience in this area. ¶9. (U) This cable was cleared by the DOT/FHWA prior to transmission. SOBEL