Our global supply chain’s complexity and its weak points have been brought to light during the COVID-19 pandemic. All parties engaged in the supply chain share a responsibility for collaborating with the goal of creating short-term fixes and long-term solutions to help alleviate the congestion backlog. The US federal government must be a major player in ensuring successful collaboration; it is critical that the government both invest in and craft policies to facilitate greater efficiencies in the nation’s infrastructure.
The enactment of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021, is a good start when it comes to port funding. The bill includes over $5 billion exclusively for port programs and an additional $27 billion potentially available to ports via competitive grant programs, and it represents a significant down payment on modernizing and upgrading port and intermodal infrastructure.
AAPA also urges longer-term investments in ports. A significant infusion of federal funding will unlock private financing, and these investments are urgently needed to continuously build out modernized and resilient freight connectivity between modes as well as increased capacity to handle larger ships and the new energy solutions that will fuel them.
An underinvestment in dredging has left many federal navigation channels as the constraining link preventing efficient ship and freight movement through ports. AAPA recommends an increased fulfillment of Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Navigation projects to increase this necessary capacity.
The Maritime Transportation System Emergency Relief Act (MTSERA) was passed in 2020 to provide relief to ports and other maritime supply chain participants from extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, and other natural disasters. Congress has not yet appropriated funding for the program, despite opportunities to do so, most recently during Hurricane Ida in August 2021, and AAPA ardently urges legislators to do so.