Port 'Failure to Act' Study Released by ASCE
American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) quantifies infrastructure needs in airports, marine ports & inland waterway sectors. Aging infrastructure for marine ports, inland waterways, and airports threatens more than 1 million U.S. jobs according to a new Failure to Act report from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Between now and 2020, investment needs in the nation’s marine ports and inland waterways sector total $30 billion, while planned expenditures are about $14 billion, leaving a total investment gap of nearly $16 billion.
President Proposes to Deepen Columbia River Channel
President George W. Bush recently delivered remarks on the Columbia River Channel Deepening Project in Portland, Ore., announcing a $15 million budget amendment for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction on the project. President George W. Bush said he will propose to add $15 million to the federal budget to fund deepening of the Columbia River navigation channel from the current 40 ft. depth to 43 ft.. This project, if approved, would allow ships to load larger grain cargoes for export. Following are excerpted comments from his speech, given August 13, 2004.
New York Ports Must Dig To Survive
The ports surrounding New York City, which handle most of the cargo arriving on the East Coast of the United States, must have deeper channels to stay viable and competitive, port commerce officials warn. The New York/New Jersey port complex, by far the biggest on the Atlantic seaboard, expects the amount of cargo it handles to double over the next 10 years, but only if shipping lanes can be made deep enough to handle the next generation of massive container vessels. That means digging up more of the seabed and finding a way to dispose of resulting muck, some of which is highly contaminated, in the face of tough environmental laws. "Looking at it conservatively, we will double our cargo within 10 years.
Survey Says: Shippers Diverting Cargo, Increase Stocks, Against More Port Shutdowns
U.S. shippers, uncertain over timely settlement of the West Coast ports dispute, are making contingency plans against additional service disruptions, according to a nationwide survey by logistics specialist BDP International (BDP). Currently favored actions, reported by 74 percent of supply-chain managers surveyed, include cargo diversions to East Coast ports, favored by almost 52% percent; increases in safety stocks, 34%; alternate sourcing, 29%; and diversions to Gulf Coast ports, 29%. Shippers also anticipate long-term changes in supply-chain management, to be prepared for similar disruptions in the future. West Coast ports reopened Oct. 9, after the Bush administration imposed an 80-day cooling-off period under the Taft-Hartley Act.
