Intermodal Infrastructure News

Like many ports, the Alaskan Port of Homer faces aging infrastructure and capital needs well beyond the local funding capacity. The port is a key link in the supply chain for 47 remote, rural, disadvantaged or Alaska Native communities served by Homer, making proposed port infrastructure upgrades critical for shipping statewide as well as for the local community.Enter the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This unprecedented…

Leveraging its position as a Top 5 Container Port in the U.S., Port Houston will host its 2nd annual Houston International Maritime Conference (HIMC23) on October 30 – November 1, 2023. The conference will tackle broad maritime industry challenges and opportunities that will shape the entire global supply chain, with specific focus on Port Houston’s commitment to investment, growth and readiness for the future.“HIMC23 is designed to not only illustrate how Port Houston is in growth mode…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Monday announced that up to $684.3 million is now available for Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grants, to be awarded on a competitive basis to projects that improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of the movement of goods into, out of, around or within a port. This marks the most, annual funding for PIDP in history and will help improve our supply chains, speed up the safe, efficient…

Offshore wind (OSW) energy is a new focus for the U.S. under President Biden, who highlighted it in his January 27, 2021 Executive Order on climate. Since then, there have been several new supporting developments:Rulings by the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP);Announcement that workers in Alabama and West Virginia are supplying 10,000 tons of domestic steel for use at a Texas shipyard where Dominion Energy is building the nation’s first Jones Act compliant wind turbine installation vessel;U.S.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration is encouraging states and port authorities to apply for $230 million in discretionary grant funding for port and intermodal infrastructure-related projects through the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).“Our nation’s ports are a key part of our critical infrastructure. They create jobs and make our economy more resilient and sustainable,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “This funding…

Rear Admiral Mark Buzby is the Maritime Administrator, U.S. Maritime Administration.Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby was appointed by President Donald Trump and sworn in as Maritime Administrator on August 8, 2017. Prior to his appointment, Buzby served as president of the National Defense Transportation Association, a position he has held since retiring from the U.S. Navy in 2013 with over 34 years of service. A 1979 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Buzby earned his Bachelor of Science in Nautical Science and U.S. Coast Guard Third Mate License. He was commissioned in the US Navy in June 1979, is a graduate of the Joint Forces Staff College and holds master’s degrees from the U.S.

Illinois Soybean Association Rallies U.S. Growers to Consider Shipping Via Container to Find New Markets for Anticipated Record Harvest.The anticipated bumper harvest of U.S. soybeans this fall amid a trade dispute with China presents an opportunity for growers to reach new international markets with containerized shipping. Farmers this spring sowed more soybeans than corn for the first time in 35 years. But prices have dropped since China, the world’s biggest market for soybeans, placed a 25 percent tax on imported U.S. soybeans, in response to U.S. tariffs on a swath of Chinese goods.

As the Central Ohio River Business Association (CORBA) pushes commerce on the Ohio River, stakeholders are beginning to take notice. On January 19, in an office tower overlooking the Ohio River, Eric Thomas convened the first meeting of 2017 for a business group working in the 13th largest port in the U.S.: the Ports of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky (PCNK). Thomas serves as the Executive Director of CORBA – the Central Ohio River Business Association. PCNK’s high rank is likely a surprise to many.

We are in the midst of a revolution over port infrastructure. This revolution is not about the role of ports as silent engines for our economy and the need for better intermodal infrastructure. Rather, it is about why governments – local, state and federal – believe ports exist, and whether or not public and private entities, other than those directly responsible for ports, should help build or improve port infrastructure and their intermodal connectors. Ports are rightfully linked to a maritime industry that is steeped in tradition.

Plans to develop South Carolina’s second inland port in Dillon were announced by the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) in a move that aims to support growth of intermodal container volumes and expand access to markets in neighboring states and throughout the Northeast and Midwest, according to the SCPA. A resolution authorizing the port to move forward with construction of the terminal in the Carolinas I-95 Mega Site was unanimously approved by the SCPA Board of Directors. SCPA will break ground on the new terminal in the first quarter of 2017, and plans to open the facility by the end of the year. “Inland Port Dillon will be a great diversification of our state's logistics footprint,” said Jim Newsome, SCPA president and CEO.

Shipping industry veteran Dan Gardner is director of Mobileweight, which helps to streamline processes and create efficiencies for the container shipping industry. The firm’s first-of-its-kind mobile application and online portal Mobileweight aims to offer a reliable, fast and easy way to comply with SOLAS and electronically file the VGM with ocean carriers. Gardner weighs in on the latest SOLAS VGM requirements which entered force on July 1, and discusses their potential impact across the container shipping sector.

The South Carolina Ports Authority announced plans to pursue a second inland port facility, driven by the success of Inland Port Greer and demand for enhanced efficiency of international container movements between the Port of Charleston and growing markets in South Carolina and North Carolina. "Inland Port Greer is one of SCPA's most successful investments, as the growth of intermodal container volume movement in our state and region requires appropriate facilities in the interior to ground loaded and empty containers and to leverage the efficiency and sustainability of rail transportation," SCPA president and CEO Jim Newsome said. "If it is feasible, an additional inland port will be a great diversification of our logistics footprint.

After evaluating 627 applications, 50 of which were from ports, for the FY 2015 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced 39 awards for $500 million in funding to be made in the seventh round of this multimodal, discretionary grant program. Of those, five awards totaling $44.3 million, or about 9 percent of total funding, are going to commercial seaports or to projects that directly aid the efficient movement of goods to and from America’s ports.

The State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College has selected Dr. Richard Burke and Dr. Christopher Clott as its inaugural ABS chairs following a comprehensive search that drew an expansive range of applicants, the college announced today. Made possible through the financial support of ABS (formerly the American Bureau of Shipping), which provided an endowment of $3 million dollars, the positions aim to allow SUNY Maritime to remain “first and foremost” in the maritime education and training field.

The European Union will co-finance with €3.9 million from the TEN-T Programme a project to extend one of the terminals and renew the intermodal infrastructure of the northern Italian Port of Genoa. The project, which was selected for funding under the 2012 TEN-T Annual Call, concerns works aimed at adapting the Port’s infrastructure to larger ships. The Port of Genoa, as a major national port and southern European gateway, needs to be prepared for the future traffic demand increase and to adapt its port layout to the new market requirements.

Port authorities, terminal Operators, shipping Lines, intermodal companies & the financial community to attend upcoming Infocast conference. Conference organizer, Infocast, brings its Port & Intermodal Finance & Investment Summit to Miami, FL on April 16-18, 2013, which will be hosted and sponsored by the Port of Miami. In order to increase maritime commerce competitiveness, expand revenues, and create jobs, American ports are promoting multimillion dollar plans to seize the benefits of the greater number of post-Panamax ships expected to call at American ports as result of increased traffic through the Panama and Suez Canals. AAPA reports that U.S.