HOUSTON (ICIS)–The administration of US
President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a
short-term action plan aimed at easing supply
chain constraints that have created headwinds
for business and industry.
Supply chains are under tremendous strain amid
strong demand created when economies reopened
from lockdowns during the pandemic.
And while most think the current state of
supply chain stress is unlikely to change until
2022, the administration’s plan is aimed at
helping stem the tide before funds from the
bipartisan infrastructure legislation become
available.
“Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is
announcing a set of concrete steps to
accelerate investment in our ports, waterways
and freight networks,” the White House said in
a statement. “These goals and timelines will
mobilise federal agencies and lay the
foundation for successful implementation of the
historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal.”
The plan will increase the flexibility for port
grants, accelerate port infrastructure grant
awards, and announce new construction projects
for coastal navigation, inland waterways and
land ports of entry.
It will also launch the first round of expanded
port infrastructure grants funded through the
bipartisan infrastructure deal.
Actions will include:
- The US Department of Transportation (DOT)
will allow port authorities to redirect savings
from other projects to current supply chain
challenges. - Alleviate congestion at the Port of
Savannah by funding a project for pop-up
container yards. This will allow the Georgia
Port Authority to reallocate more than $8m to
convert existing inland facilities into five
pop-up container yards in both Georgia and
North Carolina. - Launch programs to modernies ports and
marine highways with more than $240m in grant
funding within the next 45 days. - Identify within the next 60 days
construction projects that the US Army Corps of
Engineers could undertake. These projects would
be funded with $4bn. - Prioritise key ports of entry for
modernisation and expansion within the next 90
days. This will allow the identification of
$3.4bn in investments to upgrade obsolete
inspection facilities and allow more efficient
international trade through the northern and
southern borders. - Open competition for the first round of
port infrastructure grants funded through the
infrastructure deal within 90 days. DOT will
announce more than $475m in additional funding
for port and marine highway infrastructure.
The action plan also calls for improved efforts
at data sharing to support supply chains.
Currently, supply chains are almost entirely
privately operated and span shipping lines,
terminal operators, railroads, trucking
companies, warehouses and beneficial cargo
owners, which are importers who take control of
the cargo at the destination using its own
logistics assets as opposed to using a
third-party source such as a freight forwarder.
The lack of data exchanged between each of the
actors causes delays and inefficiencies.
The Biden plan calls for new data standards for
moving goods.
DOT will work with the Federal Maritime
Commission to publish a request for information
on standardised data exchange requirements for
goods movement in the transportation supply
chain, according to the plan.
