Regional Solutions for a Regional Issue
The Mississippi River is a critical corridor for transportation of agricultural products and, in turn, is critical to the economies of the states that utilize the river to transport these trade goods. The report assesses the total impact of lock and dam closures along the Upper Mississippi River and then demonstrates how the cost the closures, or improvements designed to mitigate their impact on the highway side, compare with the cost of improving Upper Mississippi River control structures.
MAFC Program Administrator, Ernest Perry, PhD, testified last week to members of the Assembly Transportation Committee for the State of Wisconsin in support of continued funding for the Harbor Assistance Program (HAP). In his statement, Perry emphasized a multiagency effort that has been taking place for over three years to to increase the freight and […]
Marine freight, ports, modal diversion, marine highways, OSOW, Great Lakes, Mississippi River
Introduction By: Aaron Jermier, Ernie Perry, Ben Zietlow, Teresa Adams The MAFC region contains 5,610 miles (22.2% of U.S. total) of navigable inland waterways and is the largest user of the Great Lakes to move freight. Every MAFC state has direct water access to world markets via the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway and […]
MAFC program manager Ernie Perry has been invited to serve on the Advisory Group for the M-35 (Waterway of the Saints) Marine Highway. The Advisory Group consists of representatives from various stakeholder groups, including industry sectors, federal agencies, local governments, regional planning agencies, labor groups, academia, and environmental and flood control interests. The representatives will serve in […]
A recent issue of the Great Laker published an article by MAFC Program Manager Ernie Perry that was based on the results of Phase 1 of the Wisconsin Commercial Port Development Initiative (WCPDI) conducted by Perry and a CFIRE research team. This article outlined the five key elements for strategic port planning: Get everyone on board. Consider […]
Bloomberg News recently reported that Flexport is aiming to introduce an Uber-like service to the freight-forwarding and logistics business. Flexport connects customers with carriers, and software takes care of customs, tariffs and other logistics. A Web-based dashboard lets a U.S. importer comparison-shop by typing in variables — Port A on this day or Port B […]
With the ice is melting, many of the MAFC states are preparing for the 2015 navigation season. Two recent meetings brought together public and private stakeholders with an interest in improving maritime freight on the Mississippi River system. Upper Mississippi River System Ports, Terminals, and Operators Workshop The Upper Mississippi River System Ports, Terminals, and […]
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) recently released a Port Planning and Investment Toolkit. The Port Planning and Investment Toolkit is being built around modules on planning, funding and executing projects, with the goal of making navigating the best course of action to accomplish your goals easier and more user friendly than ever before. […]
MARAD has released a call for projects (CFP) for America’s Marine Highways. Eligible projects should establish new or enhance existing Marine Highway services that reduce landside congestion and increase the use of domestic marine transportation. Proposed projects no longer have to have parallel landside routes. While all applications must be sponsored and submitted by public […]