U.S. Department of Transportation allocates $241 million to help supply chain recover quickly

In order to ease port congestion and solve the supply chain crisis, the United States can try every possible means. According to foreign media reports on the 29th, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that more than $241 million in discretionary funding will be provided for 25 projects through the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) of the Maritime Administration (MARAD) to help improve facilities at ports in 19 states and one region. The funded projects include coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland ports.

California received funding for two projects, including Powering the Future in Oakland and U.S. Green Gateway Phase I in Long Beach. The Oakland project will build a new on-site fuel cell facility and a solar array with electrical storage, and establish a direct connection between the port substation and the local power company's biomass-fueled generator.

The funding is part of President Biden’s Harris Ports Initiative, which aims to strengthen supply chains to meet demand from the rapid economic recovery over the past year and address inflationary pressures.

Buttigieg said that U.S. maritime transport plays a critical role in the supply chain. Funding programs for ports will help support American jobs, operate efficiently and resiliently, and deliver goods faster to the American people.

The PIDP program is now in its third year and has allocated approximately US$492 million to 32 projects of regional and national economic significance in the first two years . This program plays an important role in supporting the construction and development of port facilities and ensuring cargo transportation needs.

In addition to financial allocations, the United States has previously adopted a series of policy measures to ease port congestion, including 24/7 port operations, additional container detention fees, and new port vessel queuing regulations. Although the effect is not obvious, it is still somewhat effective.

Currently, according to Bloomberg, according to a new calculation method, the number of container ships heading to the busiest port in the United States has increased to nearly 100, which also shows that the congestion problem in American ports has not been solved from the root. In addition, the chain problems such as the supply chain crisis caused by the congestion not only affect the local area in the United States, but also cause a lot of damage to cross-border sellers. I hope that the local government's response measures to the current situation of the port will be effective and usher in a smooth cross-border year next year.

U.S. Department of Transportation

Supply Chain