Survey responders were asked several demographic questions in order to be able to relate their opinions to the opinions of other stakeholder groups.  Two of the manufacturers were single stage manufacturers while one was an incomplete vehicle manufacturer and, as a result, the above tanks are mostly trailer mounted, with the exception of some MC 306/ DOT 406 and MC 331 tanks.  Similarly, the majority of repair facilities repair trailer-mounted bulk packages with the exception of two facilities that repair mostly truck-mounted bulk packages.

The top three bulk packages used by the carrier survey respondents, as shown in Table 5.2,  are Low Pressure Cargo Tanks (built to MC 307 or DOT 407 specifications), Atmospheric Pressure Cargo Tanks (built to MC 306 or DOT 406 specifications) and Corrosive Cargo Tanks (built to MC 312 or DOT 412 specifications).   Furthermore, the majority of the bulk packages are owned by the carriers (Twenty six carriers owned over 80% of the containers used to make highway shipments).  One carrier indicated that over 80% of their packages are rented while two carriers indicated that under 20% of their shipments are made using bulk packages owned by a lessor.   Ten of the carriers who responded to the survey indicated that under 20% of their shipments are made using tanks owned by the shipper.   Chemical / petroleum carriers were also asked questions concerning the number of trips made and the types of material hauled.  In general, there was a wide range in the reported number of bulk tank deliveries of hazardous materials made per year.  Four carriers make between 100 and 999 deliveries per year, eleven make between 1,000 and 9,999 deliveries per year, five report to make between 10,000 and 50,000 deliveries per year and nine report to make over 50,000 deliveries per year.

Table 5.2: Bulk Package Types

Table 5.3 illustrates the hazardous material classes transported by carriers.  The majority of carriers who responded to the survey transport Class 3 – flammable and/or combustible liquids (transported by 90% of respondents), Class 8 – corrosive substances (transported by 83% of respondents) and Class 9 – miscellaneous hazardous materials / products, substances, or organisms (transported by 72% of respondents).

Table 5.3: Hazardous Material Classes Transported by Respondents to Carrier and Shipper Surveys

The seven shipper respondents represented shipping operations of various sizes.  The majority of shipper respondents reported that their companies made between 10,000 and 50,000 highway shipments of hazardous materials using bulk tanks in North America, while one shipper reported to make between 1,000 and 9,999 shipments and two others to make over 50,000 shipments.  The types of hazardous materials shipped by these companies represent all classes of materials (Table 5.3).

The top three bulk packages used by the shipper survey respondents are Low Pressure Cargo Tanks (built to MC 307 or DOT 407 specifications), Corrosive Cargo Tanks (built to MC 312 or DOT 412 specifications), High Pressure Gas Cargo Tanks (built to MC 331 specifications) and Pressurized UN Portable Tanks.   Furthermore, the majority of the bulk packages are owned by a carriers (four shippers indicated that over 60% of their shipments were transported using carrier-owned bulk packages), although there was a sizable number of reported shipper-owned containers (three shippers indicated that over 60% of their shipments were transported in their own bulk packages).  Two shippers indicated that fewer than 20% of their shipments are made using bulk packages owned by a lessor.  

Hazardous Material Bulk Package Researchers were also asked a series of demographic questions.  The primary focus of the respondents research varied from risk analysis of hazardous materials transportation by alternate modes (including rail and waterways) to risk assessment of the safety of hazardous materials transportation, to bulk package performance research (including procedures to determine package integrity, examination of tank behavior and manufacturing characteristics that effect tank integrity and the dynamic safety of tank trucks, tank design, baffles design and anti-slosh). Specifically, the aspects of cargo tank performance considered in the respondent’s research include:

• All aspects of cargo tank performance
• The relationship between accident environments and cargo environments or how the conveyance protects the cargo from severe accidents
• The effect of infrastructure quality on accident probability
•  Accident likelihood
• Consequences given that an accident has occurred
• Rollover, stability and control
• Bulk package risk assessment

Years of experience of the researchers ranged from three years to thirty-five years, with a median of 20 years.  Only one of the researcher survey respondents was employed by an organization that maintained data regarding cargo tank accident performance measures.  Additionally, to relate hazardous material researcher’s responses to other stakeholder groups, researchers were asked to indicate with which types of bulk tanks they are most interested.  

Figure 5‑1: Researcher Interest in Specific Bulk Packages