National Marine Container Transportation System A CALL TO ACTION

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National Marine Container Transportation SystemA
CALL TO ACTION
Talking Freight seminar September 21, 2005 Robin
LanierExecutive Director, The Waterfront
Coalition
1001 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 1110 Washington,
DC 20036 WWW.portmod.org
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The Scope . . .

• 25.2 million TEU traveled through US ports in
  2004.
• 50 of containers handled on the West Coast.
• 70 of U.S. Imports come from Asia.
• 40 of containerized imports enter the U.S.
  through Los Angles/Long Beach

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The Scope . . .

• Forecasts call for a doubling of trade in the
  next ten years.
• Containerized trade is focused on congested
  gateways.
• Growth affects highways and railroads. In 2004,
  2 to 3 days of additional transit time because of
  congestion.

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Why do we care?

• Higher inventory carrying costs for business.
  JIT is moving to JIC.
• Higher prices for consumers.
• Lost markets for exporters.
• More highway congestion for communities.
• Environmental concerns.
• Community push back.

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Action Needed Now To

• Improve port productivity,
• Develop alternate Western gateways,
• Promote all-water routes to the East Coast,
• Increase intermodal rail investment,
• Develop better forecasting and metrics,
• Develop highway priorities.

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Improve Port Productivity by

• Making harbor trucking a profitable business,
• Operating ports during extended hours,
• Dealing with free time and chassis,
• Spreading out vessel sailings and arrivals in the
  trans-Pacific trade to make maximum use of
  terminal capacity.

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Develop Alternate Gateways

• Provide more sailings to alternate Western ports,
• Improve rail services in Oakland, Portland,
  Seattle and Tacoma,
• Address the issues that preclude Oakland as a
  transload center.

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Develop Alternate Gateways

• More sailings through the Suez Canal,
• Expand the Panama Canal to take larger ships.

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Intermodal Rail Investment

• Provide tax incentives to improve ROI on
  intermodal rail investments,
• Focus attention on key East-West interchanges,
• Key projects needed to support freight corridors,
• Move cautiously on shuttle-train projects.

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Forecasting and Metrics

• Develop best practices for measuring terminal
  capacity and productivity,
• Develop forecasting models for importers,
  exporters and other stakeholders that will allow
  adjustments to trade flows.

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Highway Priorities

• Develop a national freight policy,
• Focus on the priorities first THEN the
  financing!
• Develop key port connector projects,
• Provide assistance to short-haul truckers for
  equipment,
• Develop truck-only lanes near ports.

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Conclusion

• Maintaining the health of the containerized
  freight system is essential to US interests.
• The public sector has a role in setting policy
  and helping identify financing.
• The private sector MUST change business practices
  over the short term.

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West Coast Waterfront Coalition1001 Connecticut
Ave., NWSuite 1110Washington, DC 20036(202)
861-0825www.portmod.org