The last week last week, this week, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced plans to invest more than $580 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to finance 31 port improvements in fifteen states and an U.S. territory. In the context of the President’s Investing in America agenda, the funding is expected to help boost the capacity and efficiency of ports on the coast, Great Lakes ports, as well as inland river ports. The port improvements revealed today will increase the reliability of supply chains, provide new opportunities for workforce development, improve productivity of the freight system, cut cost, cut emissions as well as improve quality, safety, and reliability of our ports.

“America’s ports are crucial to the supply chain of our country Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, we have projects in progress across America–from Long Beach to Milwaukee to Monroe that are making it feasible for ports across the country to transport increasing volumes of merchandise each year and reduce costs for families.” stated U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “With the new investments that we’re making today, which are made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re extending the good work of our predecessors and launching new projects that increase capacity, boost efficiency as well as facilitate faster transportation of goods in ports that span over 12 states.”

The money comes directly from the MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) that received $2.25 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in order to upgrade port infrastructure and meet national needs for freight transport. The program gives planning support as well as capital financing as well as project management support to increase capacity and effectiveness of ports, both in cities and rural areas.

“Modernizing the port infrastructure of America is crucial to strengthen the multimodal infrastructure that supports the supply chain of our country,” said Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips. “Approximately 2.3 billion small tonnes of merchandise pass via U.S. waterways each year And the advantages from developing ports extend well beyond maritime industry. This investment improves the circulation and efficiency of the goods transported by enhancing the resilience of supply chains in all transport modes as well as addressing negative health and environmental impacts that affect ports and communities.”

The DOT’s historical projects in the port infrastructure are an integral part of Biden Harris Administration’s plan to create more durable supply chains. In February 2021 the Biden was President. Biden directed a multi-agency plan to address disruptions in supply chains caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. Later, the administration created the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force as well as the Council on Supply Chain Resilience to improve our supply chains. The continuous efforts of the Administration to strengthen supply chains over the short as well as the medium as well as the long-term have reduced prices for consumers as well as slowed economic inflation. Supply chains were responsible for greater than 80 percent of the drop of 2023’s inflation and helped lower inflation faster than other economies across the globe.

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More information is available here:

US Department of Transportation

Tel: +1 855 368 4200

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www.transportation.gov