A feeling of uncertainty pervades the shipping world with the rapid political shifts in the Western world with “isolation” as a strong undercurrent. Contrary to the rising belief, global trade shows no signs of altering the meteoric trajectory already blazed. “Isolation,” however, may be the best way to describe how US infrastructure and freight strategy has been developed over recent decades, and may be the biggest hurdle the US faces in the global trade race.
US ports and intermodal systems are the critical components that allow US shippers to participate in the continuously growing global economy. The ailments of US infrastructure are rooted in the stubbornly independent, siloed, and needlessly adversarial decision-making of its many participants. The Journal of Commerce has well-documented some of the issues:
- Foreign-owned shipping lines consolidating services with nationalistic interests and sailing vessels of unprecedented sizes. These new mega-vessels are too large for most US ports and private terminals to currently handle.
- Ports lacking sufficient chassis and rail service partnerships to efficiently move the volumes associated with mega-ships.
- Ports and terminals overloaded with high-cost unproductive labor.
- Supply chains’ inconsistent and inefficient harmonization of information and technology.
- Major disruptions linked to weather events and labor strife.
- Ports outgrowing legacy footprints, leaving significant community and environmental impact.
The critical mass of infrastructure required to support large, efficient transportation networks crosses numerous federal, state, and local government lines with competing objectives. Meanwhile, numerous private sector entities provide a critical role in development and management of these ports. Uncertain regulation and development will continue to discourage major investment from the private sector. Failure to address this matter will cause a significant drag on the US economy and further reduce our nation’s global economic competitiveness.
Isolation is not a response to our issues and opportunities. Trade and development has always been built on meeting eye-to-eye. What we need now is to develop a coordinated national strategy for port development and freight management.