The global economic crisis has had a staggering impact on the bottom line of service providers in the transportation industry. The wild fluctuations in the cost of fuel, the collapse of financial institutions and the lack of consumer confidence have put the maritime industry in uncharted waters. Industry leaders, however, know that growth will resume and we must be prepared to withstand this current downturn and plan for the future.
East Coast ports must be prepared to handle the larger vessels that will transit an expanded Panama Canal in 2014 as well as those vessels on Suez services from manufacturing plants in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. To accommodate this growth, ports must continue to provide safe, secure and efficient terminals by investing in deeper channels, additional equipment and advanced technology. Their investment must be completed in a sustainable manner that takes into account the need to reduce the environmental impacts of port operations and addresses the impact of climate change.
These challenges facing the port industry will occur at the same time we begin to communicate the importance of facilitating global trade with the Obama administration, incoming members of Congress and several new committee chairs in the House and Senate. To meet our goals, it will be essential that the federal government fully fund maintenance dredging, support the continuance of port security grants and assist in the construction of intermodal connectors to port facilities.