The Value of America's Marine Highway

The U.S. economy has grown increasingly dependent on global trade. The national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an indicator of prosperity, has grown exponentially in recent years, largely as a result of international trade, which makes up roughly 25 percent of the GDP. This brings about vast benefits but also places demands on the ability of the U.S. domestic transportation system to keep up with goods movement in and through the nation’s gateways.

One major challenge is managing growing congestion on our roadways and in our urban areas. According to the  "National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America’s Transportation Network," Department of Transportation (May 2007), "...congestion is costing America an estimated $200 billion a year."  And this figure is rising.  Nearly 98 percent of all domestic freight including through ports moves on the United States’ nation’s highways and railroads. The Federal Highway Administration study entitled, “Estimated Cost of Freight Involved in Highway Bottlenecks – Final Report,” indicates that, on average, there are currently 10,500 trucks per day per mile on the Interstate Highway System. But by 2035, that volume is expected to double to 22,700 trucks, with the most heavily used portions of the system seeing upwards of 50,000 trucks per day.

Urban communities will feel the greatest impact from the traffic volume increases. According to the Department of Transportation, trucks account for almost 40 percent of the time Americans spend stuck in traffic in the 50 most congested urban areas.  Until recently, additional capacity demands were met by adding more highway lanes. But this is no longer a realistic option. Recent reports indicate that between highways and railroads more than $300 billion is needed to meet this future capacity demand. In addition, in 2007 more than 60 percent of federal highway funding went toward maintenance of existing roadways, leaving little for new development (to help increase capacity).

As the United States faces the most serious economic challenges in decades, the efficient movement of international and domestic freight is vital to America’s economic recovery and future growth. America’s Marine Highways can help move this freight more efficiently and also help reduce congestion in the urban areas. Freight can be shipped via coastal or inland ports to other ports where goods are transferred to truck or rail for movement to their final destination, reducing the volume of traffic in major corridors. These goods can be moved via different types of vessels, depending on the waterway used, that provide cost-effective and environmentally friendly transportation for containers and trailers. This will also increase the utilization of an existing system with abundant capacity, and that will reduce the need to add expensive new roadways.

The Department of Transportation published an interim final rule on Oct. 9, 2008, establishing a framework to provide federal support to expand the use of America's Marine Highway.  (You can also see the Stay of Effectiveness.)  The four primary components of the framework are:

1. Marine Highway Corridors: Designating Corridors will integrate the Marine Highway into the surface transportation system and encourage the development of multi-jurisdictional coalitions to focus public and private efforts and investment.
2. Marine Highway Project Designation: Designating Marine Highway Projects is aimed at mitigating landside congestion by starting new or expanding existing services to provide the greatest benefit to the public in terms of congestion relief, improved air quality, reduced energy consumption and other factors. Designated Projects will receive direct support from the Department of Transportation.
3. Incentives, Impediments and Solutions: The Maritime Administration, in partnership with public and private entities, will identify potential incentives and seek solutions to impediments to encourage utilization of the Marine Highway and incorporate it, including ferries, in multi-state, state and regional transportation planning.
4. Research: The Department of Transportation, working with the Environmental Protection Agency, will conduct research to support America’s Marine Highway, within the limitations of available resources. Research would include environmental and transportation benefits, technology, vessel design, and solutions to impediments.

The Department of Transportation is currently completing the Final Rule and the Report to Congress.  For other current events, see "Latest News" below.

Also, vessels engaged in Marine Highway operations can now also qualify for Capital Construction Fund benefits. This program was created to assist owners and operators of U.S.-flag vessels in accumulating the capital necessary for the modernization and expansion of the U.S. Merchant Marine.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes discretionary funds for the surface transportation system which includes America's Marine Highways.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides the Secretary of Transportation with $1.5 billion in discretionary funds for capital investments in our surface transportation infrastructure. The Secretary is required to award the funds on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area or a region. Eligibility for these funds include, but is not limited to, port infrastructure investments and projects that connect ports to other modes of transportation while improving the efficiency of freight movement.

The Department of Transportation is reviewing comments on the Interim Final Rule which can be found in the section above entitled, "Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007."

The Maritime Administration's Office of Marine Highways & Passenger Services continues to work in Canada and Mexico through the Trilateral Working Group, meeting again in June 2009. The Office of Marine Highways has also been attending various national conferences.

See more latest news from this past week and back to December 2007 when the Energy Act was signed.

America's Marine Highways are supported in several ways, including through reports and publications from Government and academia.  Refer to the Program's Reference Library for more information.  

In addition, the Marine Highways Cooperative is a consortium of public(Maritime Administration), private, and academic organizations committed to improving transportation mobility through domestic short sea shipping.  (Click on the logo to learn more.)

Other marine highway resources include the National Waterways Conference, MTS Matters, the Waterways Council, and Inland Rivers Port & Terminals.

For further information, please refer to the Program's Frequently Asked Questions.  If you need additional information, please contact Noel Comeaux in the Office of Marine Highways and Passenger Services at 202-366-5527.