Interview: Sam Ruda, Director, Port of NY/NJ
Ports are economic engines for the regions they serve, and the impact from business activities at the Port of New York/New Jersey runs as big as the area it serves: 46 million consumers in a four-hour radius. The port is an economic giant in and of itself, providing for nearly a half a million jobs, a cumulative $35 billion in personal income and a cumulative $98 billion in business income. Sam Ruda, Director, Port NY/NJ, discusses a record 2019, continued investment in infrastructure…
America’s First Marine Highway Comes Back to Life
The New York State Canal System, once forgotten as a commercial shipping option, is on the rise again, after years of decline. The shorter, greener and smarter route(s) make increasingly good sense for high value cargoes. Commercial utilization of America’s original superhighway – the Erie Canal – is on the rise again in recent years after years of decline. The third generation of the famed Erie Canal – the “Barge Canal” was constructed between 1905 and 1918. Designed to accommodate up to 10 million tons of cargo per year, the modern Erie Canal peaked at just over 5 million tons in 1951. Then, and with growing competition from railroads and highways, and the opening of the St.
Shortsea Shipping: Poised for a Comeback
The idea that cargo, moved from deep draft ports to smaller, niche destinations, can be accomplished without trucks is something that has taken a backseat over the past five years. That’s because, absent the leadership necessary in Washington to move the viable concept forward, it has fallen off the intermodal Radar, replaced with flashy ideas for high speed commuter trains and further obscured by the pouring of billions of dollars of asphalt onto the nation’s highways. Shortsea shipping, however, is alive and well. In the Commonwealth of Virginia – and elsewhere – it is getting a jumpstart that is already yielding dividends. Sean T. Connaughton, Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Virginia and the former U.S.
