Marine Log - July 2008 - (Page 15)

COASTALSHIPPING tive reform and create a meaningful dialogue with the industry on issues that must be addressed for long-term success. 4. We will encourage the development of a new nationwide port development plan within the context of the National Freight Transportation Program recommended by The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission. In its final report released in December, the National Surface Transportation Study commission presented a cohesive plan to ensure that our U.S. transportation system remains the preeminent system in the world. Included was a call to establish a National Freight Transportation Plan to enhance U.S. global competitiveness by eliminating chokepoints and increasing throughput through our major gateway corridors. The establishment of this plan is crucial to the future of our economy. The cost of inaction is too high. As the commission warned in its report: “Over the last several decades, … investment has not kept pace with the demands of modern, trade-driven supply chains that stretch from the United States to virtually everywhere in the world. Growing volumes of freight that now move along our roads, rails, and waterways are increasingly choked by a lack of adequate capacity. These chokepoints at major gateways and trade corridors are a potential trade barrier as threatening as tariffs, and often represent environmental hot spots.” As the commission recommends, we must take the transportation planning process from a local and very politicized environment to a new national level based on performance standards measuring the benefit to the nation as a whole. This is the only way to ensure critical improvements are funded and prioritized to meet the need for congestion relief and increased throughput. The new National Freight Transportation Program must address port infrastructure development in a way consistent with this new transportation funding approach. Resistance to a National Port Development Plan may be strong. But the need for a plan to set port development priorities at the federal level is undeniable. We must realize that not every port in the United States can afford the dredging, landside infrastructure and intermodal connections needed to handle 14,000 TEU containerships. We need a national plan to prioritize port funding based on the realities of the market. We need a tiered approach to port infrastructure development that addresses the funding needs of port authorities according to the role ports will play in an optimized U.S. Marine Highway system. This approach will create the context for effective decision-making based on a cost-benefit analysis for the entire nation, removed from local political objectives. ML ABOUT THE AUTHOR Charles G. “Chuck” Raymond is the chairman, president and CEO of Horizon Lines, Inc., the leading Jones Act ocean shipping and integrated logistics company. This article has been excerpted from a keynote speech by Mr. Raymond at the North America Marine Highway Conference in Virginia Beach, Va., this past April. www.marinelog.com JULY 2008 MARINE LOG 15 http://www.markeymachinery.com http://www.markeymachinery.com http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - July 2008

Marine Log - July 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Coastal Shipping Communications Paints & Coatings WISTA’s Jeanne Grasso Showcase Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Tech Talk Gulf Coast Headliner

Marine Log - July 2008

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