Lack of capacity is perhaps the leading problem facing the port industry in the United States. Expanding global trade, larger ships, regulatory burdens, truck driver shortages and other challenges are putting pressure on an already stressed national port system to handle bigger cargo volumes.
What can be done about the capacity crunch? Additional port land, improved infrastructure, and changes to operations are three possible solutions.
Finding more port land is difficult, especially in dense population centers such as the U.S. Northeast. Waterfront land available for development should be situated near major rail and highway connections. Ideally, new maritime development projects should not suffer from bridge height limitations. Increasing total port acreage will help with capacity issues going forward.
Physical infrastructure improvements are an ongoing obligation for port authorities, and ports throughout the U.S. are spending billions of dollars to improve their infrastructure. One of the biggest items on any port’s to-do list is channel deepening. With bigger ships coming, ports that want to stay competitive will have to provide deeper water and the docks to handle bigger ships. Ports also need to spend significant capital dollars on marine terminal improvements, rail access, new roads and warehousing. Improved infrastructure will also help with capacity problems in the near future.
Operational improvements are sometimes the most difficult to enact. The human capacity for inertia is extraordinary; habits become ingrained, even when better choices are easily available. This is true even in the marine transportation and supply chain industries. One operational solution that steamship lines are looking at is additional port calls. If one port has difficulty handling the new mega-ships, then direct calls at other ports with smaller ships, or feeder services, could ease the congestion that has been all too common on both coasts.
James T. McDermott Jr., Executive Director, Philadelphia Regional Port Authority