The state of the global economy will remain the overriding factor influencing the direction of the industry and our operating and financial decisions in 2012.
In the United States, the Presidential election and the attendant political posturing will color the picture but it will be the outcome of the budget “supercommittee” process in 2011 that will truly set the stage for the domestic economy. The failure of Congress to act in timely fashion and demonstrate leadership to confront these challenging issues has further frightened the public. The transportation community has seen this result in the stress on its businesses. In the maritime sector, What can and should we do? First, look at the environment again but with a new awareness. Things have changed. Unlike the recessions of the past, many economists now believe structurally things will not recover and return as they have before. At the same time we need to remember that in the U.S. in the next 20 years we will have population growth of more 100 million people continuing to cluster along our coasts. We need a modern transportation system to support our economic future. Now is the time for a strategic review and reassessment of our environment and an attempt to understand why we may need to act differently and how we might do that.
Every idea should be on the table and as both business leaders and as transportation professionals we need to assure that these ideas are considered seriously before we dismiss something because it was previously rejected or not ever done that way before. As master union contract negotiations will be underway this year, industry wide leadership should think about these two points.
We need to find common ground, common interests and identify the steps we can all take to assure delivery of the common future good.