1 American Association of Port Authorities 703.684.5700 • www.aapa-ports.org Presentation for conference on Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure for Global Competitiveness March 4, 2009 JW Marriott, Washington, D.C. By Kurt Nagle, President & CEO American Association of Port Authorities
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American Association of Port Authorities703.684.5700 • www.aapa-ports.org
Presentation for conference onRebuilding America’s
Infrastructure for Global CompetitivenessMarch 4, 2009
JW Marriott, Washington, D.C.
By Kurt Nagle, President & CEOAmerican Association of Port
Authorities
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AAPA Overview
• AAPA a hemispheric alliance of 160 port authorities
• Members include 300 related organizations
• Association promotes info sharing/education & training
Committed to keeping seaports navigable/secure/sustainable
•As an international trade association, AAPA represents 160 of the leading public port
authorities in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.
•Throughout the hemisphere, AAPA also represents more than 300 individuals, businesses
and related organizations that support the port industry.
• In addition to advocating on issues related to seaport development and port operations,
AAPA also:
• facilitates relationship building and information exchanges between members
and nations;
• provides education and training programs, seminars and workshops;
• and works to inform the public, media, and policymakers about the essential role
ports play within the global transportation system.
•To that end, we’ve initiated an expanded seaport industry Awareness Initiative
with the theme, “Seaports Deliver Prosperity.”
• AAPA is committed to helping its member ports be competitive. navigable, secure and
sustainable.
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Seaports Deliver Prosperity
• Western Hemisphere seaports generate trillions of dollars of business activity and support millions of high-paying jobs
• Seaports and their business partners generate nearly ¼ of U.S. GDP
• Ports spend >$2 billion/year on infrastructure, but investment needed in connections on land-and waterside
For centuries, seaports have served as a vital economic lifeline
•Throughout civilization, seaports have served as a vital economic lifeline for the
movement of goods and services to people around the world.
•For 2008, according to figures we just received from IHS Global Insight, Western
Hemisphere seaports generated about $8.6 trillion in economic activity, and imported and
exported nearly 7.6 billion tons of cargo, including food, clothing, medicine, fuel, building
materials, electronics and toys. In addition, hemisphere-wide seaport activities support
the employment of tens of millions of people.
•Of the $3.15 trillion of total economic output attributed to U.S. maritime activities in
2007, $73.5 billion was revenue from businesses dependent on seaports.
•Port authorities and their business partners are investing more than $2 billion a year in
marine terminal capital improvements that are helping them handle freight and cruise
passengers more efficiently. But much more is needed to ensure efficient freight mobility
on land and water.
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Seaports are a Vital Freight Moving Asset
• Intermodal connectors and rail crossings must not inhibit moving nation’s growing trade volume
• Additional federal funds must be invested to improve freight mobility
• Federal tax credit for rail expansion improvements should be adopted
• States need more expertise in freight mobility and should include seaports in their planning process
Landside access to seaports becoming severely congested
•Ports are finding the weakest link in the logistics chain is often at their back door…beyond
their jurisdiction…where shallow navigation channels, congested roads or inadequate rail
connections are causing delays and increasing costs.
•For example, bottlenecks and obstructions need to be removed for trucks and trains. We
need rail track, switching system and other technology upgrades to increase the efficiency
of moving goods intermodally, and in turn, increase the productivity of our seaports.
•Significant investments are needed throughout our transportation system, but what has
received less focus and is increasingly vital to our economy is the infrastructure that carries
freight, such as consumer goods like food, clothing, electronics and toys to store shelves;
fuel to the pump; as well as building materials and other needs of U.S. businesses. An
efficient system provides consumers and businesses the choices they demand at prices
they can afford, and helps make U.S.-produced goods competitive in the global economy.
•Special attention should be on the “last mile” road connections into and out of our
nation’s seaports and other facilities moving goods. A Federal study showed the condition
of these critical road connections are in worse condition and have received less funding
than the other portions of highway/road system. Another focus should be on
transportation corridors that have national or regional significance.
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Seaports are a Vital Freight Moving Asset
• Larger vessels need deeper, wider channels
• HMT not fully utilized
• HMT a disincentive for short-sea shipping
• More federal investment needed to help keep U.S. competitive globally
Modern, safe, navigable shipping channels crucial to international trade & national economic prosperity
•On the waterside, with ships getting increasingly larger, dredging the deep-draft
navigation channels is more crucial than ever, both to maintain the existing channel depths
and widths, and to expand them.
•Yet, the U.S. government doesn’t fully utilize the federal Harbor Maintenance Tax only for
its intended purpose—to pay for navigation dredging. Since its inception in 1986, the tax
has too often been used for other programs while serious dredging needs have been
neglected.
•To provide incentives for removing cargo from America’s most congested roadways and
putting it on the water, AAPA advocates eliminating the domestic portion of the Harbor
Maintenance Tax. Doing so will make shipping domestic freight by water more affordable,
promoting the more environmentally friendly short-sea shipping option while helping
alleviate highway traffic congestion on some of America’s busiest highways.
•In addition, AAPA believes that improving waterway and landside transportation
infrastructure must be a high priority of the new Administration and Congress. These
investments aren’t only critical from a safety standpoint, but they will create jobs and help
construction and engineering businesses, small and large, immediately.
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Stimulus Funds Can Improve Port Infrastructure
Port infrastructure projects that enhance freight mobility on landside are eligible to compete for stimulus surface transportation funds & discretionary grant program
Examples:• Bridges, roads and tunnelsconnecting port facilities
• Intermodal yards• Freight rail corridors• Grade separations between modes
•The $27.5 billion in surface transportation investment funds identified under Title XII of
the new federal stimulus bill isn’t highway trust fund money. The funds come from the
general treasury. The language in the bill specifically identifies passenger and freight rail
transportation and port infrastructure projects as eligible for assistance.
•I’m calling this to your attention because the transportation projects in the bill are
broadly defined to include those that may not typically be paid for with highway trust fund
money. Examples may include:
•Bridges, roads and tunnels to improve port access in congested urban areas.
•Intermodal yards, both outside and within port terminal gates; and,
•Above- and below-grade rail and highway connectors between marine terminals.
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Stimulus Funds Can Improve Port Infrastructure
On the waterside, stimulus funding provided to
Corps of Engineers to help maintain & improve federal navigation channels
• Creates jobs and economicactivity
• Helps U.S. exports becompetitive in global markets
•Improving freight mobility and enabling America’s seaports to be more efficient,
productive and secure are the best investments this country can make to reinvigorate the
economy and create sustainable infrastructure and environmental programs that put
people back to work immediately and over the long term. Deepening, widening and
maintaining our federal navigation channels is of paramount importance.
•Because of seaports, everyone from farmers to small business owners to large scale
manufacturers can compete and thrive in a global marketplace.
•In these uncertain economic times, exports are more important than ever. More than 1/3
of America’s economic growth in 2007 was derived from exports.
•The following three projects are the kind of transportation infrastructure projects that
will provide long-term, regional and national benefits and will help make the U.S. more