Press Kit

View the PDF version of this summary
View the Press Release (PDF)
View the entire Report (PDF)

The promise of continued economic prosperity depends more than ever on the ability of businesses to reach international markets while receiving finished goods and raw materials from abroad. The movement of international commerce depends on an efficient transportation system, yet the nation has not developed a national freight transportation policy designed to promote economic prosperity.

The Waterfront Coalition worked with importers, exporters, ocean carriers, marine terminal operators, railroad operators and port authorities to develop the foundation of a national marine container transportation policy to promote the efficient movement of international cargo. Our views are published in The National Marine Container Transportation System: A Call to Action. The following is a summary of the paper's major findings.

We must improve the productivity, efficiency and throughput of all American blue-water ports. There are several business-practice issues that must be addressed mostly by the private sector, they include:
- Making harbor trucking a profitable business: The harbor trucking industry is vital to the movement of containers from terminal to nearby distribution facilities and de-consolidation centers where containers are unloaded. Today, the independent owner-operators, that make up this industry, are struggling to earn adequate compensation for their service. This is creating a driver shortage at a time when imports are skyrocketing. Addressing road congestion and terminal efficiency will go a long way toward increasing the number of daily trips harbor truckers needs to improve the economics that will avert a further shortage of drivers.
- Operating ports during extended hours: While vessels are loaded and off-loaded 24 hours a day, the dispatch of truck-borne cargo usually occurs only during normal 9-5 business hours. An effort is currently underway in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to extend the hours of truck gate operations through the PierPass program. The maritime industry should study the efficiency gains from this significant change in business practices to determine if it is applicable to other ports.
- Developing regional or national chassis pools: Containerized trade is transported to and from port facilities on an intermodal chassis - a simple tractor bed that is hitched to a truck's rig or power unit. These chassis are owned by ocean carriers and terminals. Truckers often spend valuable unpaid time delivering chassis to different facilities instead of delivering cargo. The development of regional or port-wide chassis pools will promote the speedy delivery of cargo and help increase port trucker rate of pay.
- Rethinking "free time" and managing it more efficiently: Today, ocean carriers and cargo owners negotiate the amount of time intermodal shipping containers are allowed to remain on pier, a practice known as "free time". As cargo volumes increase, "free time" limits a terminal operator's capacity to move more freight leading to port congestion. Ocean carriers and cargo owners should work to end the practice of using marine terminals as warehouses.
- Developing port-wide truck appointment systems: Marine terminals today allow port truckers to receive cargo at any time after the vessel has been unloaded. Terminals often do not have enough equipment to locate and prepare all cargo for truck-borne dispatch as trucks queue outside marine terminal gates. Marine terminals should explore ways to develop port-wide appointment systems, recognizing that this solution may require use of anti-trust immunity granted by the Federal Maritime Commission.
- Spreading out vessel sailings and arrivals in the trans-Pacific trade to make maximum use of terminal capacity: Manufacturing practices in Asia frequently lead to vessels in the trans-Pacific arriving at West Coast ports on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Vessel bunching places stress on terminals to offload and prepare cargo and railroads and truckers to move shipping containers leading to peaks in port congestion. The arrival of 8,000 TEU vessels will only exacerbate this problem. Shippers should consider changes in their production schedules to allow for more spread-out West Coast arrivals.
- Developing "best practices" for measuring capacity and productivity at the Nation's ports and terminals: The maritime industry does not maintain a common benchmark to measure the capacity of marine terminal facilities. The marine terminal industry should develop a common measure of capacity and productivity. Shippers making port-sourcing decisions will be able to use this information to take advantage of underused ports and alleviate the congestion in ports nearing capacity.
We must develop better trade and transportation forecasting that will allow stakeholders to minimize the impact of equipment and labor shortages. During the summer of 2004, a cargo congestion crisis hit the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Some importers and exporters were forced to wait upwards of 8 days for the delivery of cargo leading to lost revenue and higher prices for consumers. However, the crisis could have been averted if importers, exporters, ocean carriers and terminal operators, truckers and railroads worked collaboratively to share information concerning expected cargo volumes.
- Trade associations representing importers and exporters must develop methods to collect accurate cargo information and share data with ocean carriers, terminals, truckers and railroads to guarantee good service and availability of equipment.
We must encourage the development of Oakland, California and Pacific Northwest ports as key alternative Asian gateways. Almost 50% of the nation's containerized imports arrive in southern California's ports leading to cargo congestion, traffic delays and air pollution concerns in Los Angeles and Long Beach. Additional West Coast ports must be expanded to handle growing trade.
- Provide more sailings to alternate ports: Shippers and ocean carriers must work collaboratively to designate additional West Coast ports as first-ports-of-call.
- Improve Rail Service from Alternate Western Gateways: Class 1 Railroads must make intermodal infrastructure enhancements on routes serving Oakland, California and the Pacific Northwest to ensure that these facilities can meet the future demands to move more freight. These projects include improving railroad crossings and tunnels to allow for the passage of double-stack rail cars and adding additional lines.
- Addressing the issues that preclude Oakland as a transload center for large importers: The Port of Oakland is in a unique position to grow as a first class gateway port. To accomplish this requires better rail service from the Port to the Central Valley, where warehousing for large-scale importers could be developed. In addition, the port needs additional rail service Eastward, in order to make it attractive as an import destination. Without more rail investment, the potential Oakland represents will not be realized.
We must promote and improve infrastructure to support Asian trade to the East Coast and Gulf Coast. West Coast ports should not support the continued increase in Asian trade alone. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports have terminal capacity that can be used for Asian imports
- Carriers should expand and improve Asia to East Coast service through the Suez Canal: Additional services from Southeast Asia and India Sub-continent should be developed by ocean carriers.
- Immediate expansion of the Panama Canal should be a high priority: The shortest "all water" route from Asian to the East and Gulf Coast flows through the Panama Canal. However, the canal is already at 95% of its total capacity. The canal must be expanded to allow for more vessels and the next generation of wider container vessels.
We must quickly invest in intermodal rail to increase the velocity of equipment moving container cargo and to address choke points at and East/West interchanges. As cargo volumes increase in the coming years, intermodal rail infrastructure must keep up with the demand for quick and efficient service.
- Encourage private-sector investment in intermodal rail capacity through tax incentives: The nation's class I railroads are largely privately financed. These railroads expand operations by relying on business profit and capital markets for funding. However, railroads are constrained by shareholders that demand investment only in those operations with the highest rate-of-return. Intermodal investments, unfortunately, may not be the most profitable. Tax incentives for investment specifically in intermodal rail infrastructure would speed needed investment by the nation's freight railroads.
- Improving East-West Interchanges: The exchange points where Western railroads hand off cargo to Eastern Railroads are, in some cases, centuries old. They are very congested and located in some of the most urban areas of the country. Building freight "bypass" projects in Chicago and New Orleans should be high priorities for the nation's goods movement network.
- Investing in Rail Projects: The Waterfront Coalition has identified a list of key rail projects needed to support intermodal transportation. We call on class I railroads and state, local, and national authorities to work on completing this projects in a timely manner.
We must expend public resources on freight projects wisely, where they will have the biggest return, and only after consulting with shippers to understand business trends affecting the value of future capacity enhancements. The United States needs a clear policy on goods movement that would increase funding specifically for freight projects, provide federal operating assistance for short-haul shuttle trains, and provide assistance for short-haul truckers to improve the efficiency of their equipment.
- Federal Operating and Development Assistance for Shuttle Trains without New Taxes or Fees. Today, communities surrounding ports and warehouse facilities processing international cargo suffer from road congestion and poor air quality as a result of the increasing number of port truckers moving through the area. Developing shuttle trains to move cargo from ports to warehouse facilities might reduce congestion and improve air quality. Yet to determined is whether shuttle trains can co-exist on additional track that is used by class I railroads to handle the growing volume of long-haul trains taking containers from terminals to destinations 500 plus miles from the nation's ports.
  In order to promote shuttle train service with competitive rates and service, Government should explore funding options for shuttle trains that could include support for track, intermodal yards, and operating subsidies that would ensure that the cost of shuttle trains is competitive with trucks. To date, public money is not available for this kind of large public works project. Taxes or user fees imposed on cargo owners to pay for shuttle trains would defeat the purpose, by making transportation via rail more expensive that truck.
- Short-Sea Shipping Faces Significant Impediments. Similar to the shuttle train concept, advocates of "short sea shipping" state that barge traffic, in lieu of port trucking, could reduce road congestion and improve air quality. However, in most instances short sea alternatives are unlikely to deliver the same level of service at the same cost as truck. The Waterfront Coalition believes that the US government should cautiously support the short sea alternative until more studies are conducted analyzing the economic viability of this kind of service.
- Develop Truck-only Lanes at Highways Servicing Ports. Ports are frequently blamed for traffic congestion on roads and highways feeding marine terminals as a growing number of port trucker compete with commuters during normal business hours. As international trade continues to expand, this problem will only worsen. The Waterfront Coalition supports truck-only lanes feeding ports. Truck-only lanes represent a better use of limited public money needed to solve port related traffic congestion than shuttle trains and short sea shipping.
- Provide Assistance to Short-Haul Truckers to Improve Equipment. Short haul port truckers are frequently blamed for heightened levels of diesel emissions in communities surrounding ports and warehouses. Port truckers are independent "owner operators"--small businesses that may not have the financial reserves to purchase cleaner burning trucks or emission reduction equipment. The Waterfront Coalition believes that it is a wise expenditure of public money to help subsidize the upgrade of port trucker equipment with cleaner burning technology.
- Rewrite federal highway funding laws to increase funding for freight projects. Unlike the nation's rail infrastructure, highways and roads are funded with public money. Under the adage that "freight doesn't vote", Federal highway funding frequently addresses mass transit and highway safety at the expense of freight mobility and goods movement. Cargo owners and the maritime industry must educate lawmakers about the need to address federal funding for freight projects.
- Develop Key Port Connector Projects as Quickly as Possible. Working with the nation's ports and rail operators, the Waterfront Coalition has identified a list of highway projects feeding ports and rail facilities that need public funding. The Waterfront Coalition urges lawmakers and state highway and transportation officials to locate funding for quick completion of these projects that will reduce road congestion, improve working conditions for truckers and address air quality concerns.