News

After a year of uncertainty and virtual events, the Traffic Club of the Lehigh Valley held their first in-person social event of 2021 at Coca-Cola Park with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs hosting the Rochester Red Wings on Opening night. This sold out event saw the IronPigs win their home and season opener. 

Interested in attending a Club Event? Check out our Calendar of Events here: https://trafficcluboflv.org/events

About the Traffic Club of the Lehigh, Inc.:

Founded in 1934, the Traffic Club of the Lehigh Valley, Inc., is the Lehigh Valley’s premier association of Logistics, Transportation, & Distribution Professionals. The purpose of the club is to cultivate and promote the interest of the transportation industry as a whole through establishing and cultivating measures for close relationships between its members and others engaged in the transportation of freight and passengers, as carriers and as shippers, and to conduct educational programs in the field of transportation. To award annually a scholarship to a family member, or person who is a member of the Traffic Club, who embodies the purpose or direction of the organization. To learn more about the club, check us out at  https://trafficcluboflv.org

Lehigh Career & Technical Institute (LCTI) is launching a new scholarship program to help support truck driving education for those impacted by COVID-19 . According to the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation’s (LVEDC) Lehigh Valley Hot Careers 2020-2021, tractor trailer-truck drivers are listed as a ‘Hot Career’ with more than 500 job postings within the last year. 

To see if you are eligible for the COVID-19 Hardship scholarship, please contact LCTI at: 610-799-1316  or rexa@mylcti.org.

More Information:

LCTO Adult Workshop Scholarship.pdf

LCTI Covid hardship Scholarship.pdf

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KUTZTOWN, Pa. - Kutztown University’s College of Business has begun accepting students into its brand-new supply chain management track for the fall 2019 semester. Students who begin the program this fall will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in supply chain management after taking 13 core business courses in addition to six required supply chain courses including principles of supply chain management, principles of business logistics, supply chain analytics and global transportation management.

“Our new supply chain management track comes at a crucial time,” said Dr. Anne Carroll, Dean of the College of Business. “We are located in one of the fastest-growing logistics hubs in the country, creating a high demand for an educated workforce. After completing their degree, KU students will be able to provide the global businesses in our own backyard with a competitive edge with their specialized knowledge in developing efficient operations that will increase profitability and improve customer experience.”

As globalization and information technology advance, many companies find that supply chain efficiency is important to their competitiveness and profitability. Matching supply and demand and moving products and services through the supply chain are important challenges for all business; thus, KU’s new supply chain management program prepares students for careers in this growing and regionally-relevant field.

Dr. Gary Chao, associate professor of business administration, has been a leading figure in the College of Business’s effort to implement the supply chain management major.

With companies investing more and more money on information technology and distribution infrastructure in the Kutztown area, Chao notes the local workforce is being presented with a plethora of opportunities. The rapid expansion of warehousing, transportation and logistics firms both in the Lehigh Valley and across the United States has greatly increased the need for supply chain and logistics-trained personnel. The need for qualified students is substantial, and this provides an impact and leadership opportunity for KU through this track.

Due to its proximity to major metro areas, abundant real estate, robust local economy, and ample labor supply, the Lehigh Valley is one of the top 10 logistics hubs and second-largest growing market in the United States. Companies such as Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, Nestle, BMW, Walgreens, Crayola, Just Born, Kellogg's and PetSmart have all set up their regional distribution centers in this area. Their warehouses bring many employment opportunities to the area.

All KU students may also elect to add supply chain management as a minor. The minor program includes 18 semester hours of required courses in the supply chain field.

For more information, please visit KU’s supply chain management website or contact the KU Department of Business Administration’s secretary, Kim Kilgus, at Kilgus@kutztown.edu.

By Sarah Cassi | For lehighvalleylive.com

When it comes to transportation in this country, it is the best of times and the worst of times.

“I can’t think of a more appropriate and apt description of what we’re facing now,” said Roger Cohen, senior policy advisor to Pennsylvania’s secretary of transportation, said on Tuesday.

The tech sector is working to improve transportation, with goals of limiting crashes and making it easier for people to move around.

But the infrastructure in place to support that transportation was built for a country with 180 million people, “and now we’re approaching twice that number,” Cohen said.

Cohen was part of the 2019 Lehigh Valley Transportation Forum on Tuesday, sponsored by the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce and held at the Mack Trucks customer center in Allentown.

The forum touched on various issues surrounding transportation and transit, but most officials raised the alarm for fair, adequate and sustainable transportation funding -- from the federal and state governments.

Becky Bradley, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, called it a critical issue --constant growth with no increase in funding.

The issues include a federal Highway Trust Fund that depends on a diminishing gas tax that hasn’t been increased since 1993, while billions of dollars in state transportation funding have been used for Pennsylvania State Police.

“We cant continue on the path we’re on now,” she said.

Officials looking to repair and improve area roads, bridges, sidewalks and transit deal with funding that is “way under capacity for the demand we face,” Cohen said.

And the funding figures don’t consider climate change and its effect. Cohen said PennDOT usually commits $25 to 30 million in emergency funds, and last year spent $135 million.

“That’s the new normal,” he said. “We’re going to have to become much more serious about the future. For that, we need your support and your advocacy ... Time is short and the urgency is now.”

The 2020 census is going to be critical for the Lehigh Valley, Bradley said.

“We need every single person in the Lehigh Valley to respond to that census,” Bradley said, because transportation funding relies on population numbers to determine funding.

There are other actions individuals can take.

Drivers can volunteer for an I-95 Coalition pilot program, which is investigating a mileage-based driver fee. You can find more information about the free pilot program here. The deadline if Friday.

Cohen urged forum visitors to contact their federal and state legislators and urge them to focus on transportation funding solutions.

There are no Democratic roads, or Republican roads, and “We can be a united states again by investing in infrastructure,” he said.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.