Congress passed the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, the nation's first long-term highway bill nearly 10 years and a big step toward the legislative branch's intention to keep better track of port productivity.
$305 billion legislation to spur port productivity tracking
The $305 billion bill, also called FAST, includes a provision that includes information on how Congress intends to begin tracking and analyzing productivity data from the county's top ports. Acknowledgement of a need for better port productivity metrics came following the showdown between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Managers Association (PMA) during contract negotiations that contributed to historic congestion at West Coast ports.
"Before Congress always relied on anecdotal information regarding port congestion," Jon Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, told the Journal of Commerce (JOC). "Now, with this report, we will have an actual database."
On surface, the bill is designed to fund highway transportation for the next five yeas. The bill will reauthorize the Export-Import Bank's expired charter, allocate $205 billion to highway spending and dedicate another $78 billion to specialty transportation projects, The Hill reported. It is the first federal transportation funding legislation to extend beyond two years since 2005. The bill will be covered by the reauthorization of an 18.4 cents per gallon gas tax – a levy often used to pay for transportation bills. Additionally, Congress will transfer $70 billion in general revenues to the Highway Trust Fund, according to Forbes.
How data will be measured and submitted
In terms of port productivity tracking, the FAST act calls for the director of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics to submit a report to Congress no later than Jan. 15 each year, the JOC explained. The document is mandated to include data on capacity and throughput at the top ports in the country – the top 25 by total tonnage, dry bulk tonnage and 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs).
The provision within the legislation does not specify how often metrics should be collected prior to the annual report, though, or what sort of data or standards should be included. A commission is expected to be put together, which will work on determining exactly how port performance will be measured for the productivity reports. Gold explained that while he would "love to see" more frequent reporting of metrics, one per year is good enough for now.