Maritime Intelligence

Few fully appreciate that America is an Island, surrounded by Oceans with just a narrow land bridge to the south and nothing but ice to the North. The smooth operation of the ports is essential to the US Economy and yet it is one of the most neglected of the Critical Infrastructure areas requiring good intelligence and security. Maybe it's the sheer volume of containers and materials that have to be tracked, or maybe it's most in Congress haven't a clue how the Global Food Chain is easily damaged.

That certainly was the a case when I had the task of addressing a group in the US Senate on the Global Food Chain, during the panic days of Y2K. Few appreciated the contribution of global co-operation to moving essential supplies to and from the United States, and how vulnerable the port facilities were to disruption. Today we see chronic lack of funding and a general awareness that we are counting down to a Maritime Disaster in the global war of terror.

The US Port Network

The following is from AAPA the Ports Trade Association:

U.S. Public Port Facts

The United States is served by more than 360 commercial ports that provide approximately 3,200 cargo and passenger handling facilities, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.  Depending on the individual port facilities, they may accommodate anything from recreational watercraft, to barges, ferries, and ocean-going cargo and passenger ships.  Governance of these ports in the United States is a function of various state and local public entities, such as port authorities, port navigation districts and municipal port departments.  Currently, there are 126 public seaport agencies located along the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf and Great Lakes coasts, as well as in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Many of these seaport agencies are governed by an elected and/or appointed body, such as a port commission. The top 86 U.S. public seaport agencies are members of, and represented by, AAPA.

• Established by enactments of state government, public port agencies develop, manage and promote the flow of waterborne commerce and act as catalysts for economic growth. These agencies include port authorities, special purpose navigation districts, bi-state authorities and departments of state, county and municipal government.
• Public ports develop and maintain the terminal facilities for intermodal transfer of cargo between ships, barges, trucks and railroads. Ports also lease land, and in some cases build and maintain facilities, for the growing cruise, excursion and ferry passenger industry. Examples of ports with ferry operations include Port of Portland (Maine), Delaware River Port Authority and Port of San Francisco.
• In addition to maritime functions, port authority activities may also include airports, bridges, tunnels, commuter rail systems, inland river or shallow draft barge terminals, industrial parks, Foreign Trade Zones, world trade centers, terminal or short-line railroads, shipyards, dredging, marinas and other public recreational facilities.
• Public ports also play a critical role in our national security, peace-keeping and humanitarian efforts around the world. In particular, ports support the mobilization, deployment and resupply of U.S. military forces.

PORT INFRASTRUCTURE

• In the United States, public ports work closely with private industry, both in the development and financing of marine terminals and other maritime-related facilities. Public ports also serve as sponsors of federal navigation projects that benefit all maritime interests.
  
• In 2002, ports invested nearly $1.7 billion to update and modernize their facilities, almost equaling the record set in 2001, including: $140 million for general cargo; about $942 million in investments related to containers; $241 million on infrastructure improvements; and $145 million related to dredging. During the 5-year period between 2003 and 2007, public ports predict they will spend $10.4 billion (a record level), compared to actual expenditures of $7 billion between 1998 and 2002. (Source: Source – Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, “United States Port Development Expenditure Report,” May 2004)

PORT ECONOMIC IMPACT 

Public ports generate significant local and regional economic growth, including job creation. Commercial port activities in 2002 provided employment for 1.1 million Americans, while another 3.8 million were employed in exporter/importer businesses and support industries throughout the U.S.  Port activity through waterborne commerce contributed $729 billion to U.S. international trade, and personal income of $44 billion. Port activities in 2002 accounted for $16.1 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues. (Source - Martin Associates, Lancaster, PA)

Economic impacts in the U.S. of waterborne cargo movements in 2002:

• 1.1 million direct, induced and indirect jobs
• 3.8 million waterborne export-generated jobs
• $44 billion in personal income
• $56 billion in transportation service revenue
• $729 billion to the nation's GDP
• $16.1 billion in federal, state and local taxes

On an annual basis, the U.S. Marine Transportation System:

• Moves more than 2 billion tons of domestic and international freight
• Imports 3.3 billion barrels of oil to meet U.S. energy demands
• Transports 134 million passengers by ferry
• Serves 78 million Americans engaged in recreational boating
• Hosts more than 5 million cruise ship passengers

(Source - U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, “Contributions of Ports and Inland Waterways to the Nation’s Intermodal Transportation System,” Sept. 17, 2003)

CRUISE PASSENGER INDUSTRY  

• The North American cruise passenger industry, which depends upon public ports, in 2004 spent $14.7 billion on goods and services in the U.S. Those expenditures generated about 315,830 U.S. jobs. Total economic impact of cruise lines, passengers and their suppliers was $30.06 billion. (Source - Business Research & Economic Advisors, Exton, Pa.)
• Cruise passenger embarkations at all North American ports totaled 9 million in 2004, an increase of 13.7 percent over 2003. Embarkations at ports in the U.S. rose from 7.1 million in 2003 to 8.1 million in 2004, for a 14.1 increase.
• In 2004, U.S. ports accounted for 77 percent of global cruise embarkations.
  

MAJOR PORT ISSUES

• Expanding sources for port development financing and revenues, including for seaport security measures.
• Balancing environmental regulation and economic development.
• Providing waterside port access through dredging and dredged material disposal.
• Securing resources for intermodal landside access to ports
• Using transportation trust funds for infrastructure development, not deficit reduction.
• Enhancing free and fair trade worldwide.

NAVIGATION CHANNELS

• Since 1789 the federal government has authorized navigation channel improvement projects; the General Survey Act of 1824 established the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' role as the agency responsible for the navigation system. Since then, ports have worked in partnership with the Corps of Engineers to maintain waterside access to port facilities.
• Over 90 percent of the nation's top 50 ports in foreign waterborne commerce require regular maintenance dredging. Together these ports move nearly 93 percent of all U.S. waterborne commerce in a given year.
• Over 300 million cubic yards of dredged material are removed from navigation channels each year. Another 100 million cubic yards are dredged from berths and private terminals. The total, 400 million cubic yards of dredged material, equals a four-lane highway, 20 feet deep, stretching from New York City to Los Angeles.

CARGO

Ports handle a variety of cargo, including bulk, or loose cargo; breakbulk cargo in packages such as bundles, crates, barrels, and pallets; liquid bulk cargo like petroleum; dry bulk such as grain; and general cargo in steel boxes called containers, which are measured in 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs. Leading commodities shipped for domestic and foreign trade through U.S. ports:

• Crude petroleum and petroleum products (such as gasoline, aviation fuel, natural gas
• Chemicals and related products, including inorganic fertilizer
• Coal
• Food and farm products - wheat and wheat flour, corn, soybeans, rice, cotton, coffee
• Forest products - lumber, wood chips
• Iron and steel
• Soil, sand, gravel, rock, stone

Other products include:

• Automobiles, automobile parts and machinery
• Clothing, shoes, electronics, toys

CUSTOMS REVENUES

Customs revenues in FY 2003 totaled $25.1 billion. Roughly 70 percent, or $17.5 billion, is attributable to seaport activity.  (Source: U.S. Customs & Border Protection; click here to see report)

WORLD TRADE

Deep draft ports accommodate ocean-going vessels, which move over 99 percent of U.S. overseas trade by weight and 61 percent by value. (Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census)

• The Department of Transportation projects that, compared to tonnages recorded in 2001, total freight moved through U.S. ports will increase by more than 50 percent by 2020 and the volume of international container traffic will more than double.
• In 2002 (the latest year for which international data are available), the U.S. was the largest trading nation in the world for both exports and imports of goods and services. The U.S. accounts for roughly 19 percent of the world goods trade and about 15 percent of world services trade.
• Between 1970 and 2003, the value of U.S. trade increased 24-fold, and 70 percent since 1994. That was an average annual growth rate of 10.2 percent, which was nearly double the pace of the Gross Domestic Product growth during the same period (6.1 percent vs. 3.1 percent).
   
• U.S. jobs supported by exports of goods and services in 2002 rose to 4.9 million. These jobs pay higher than average U.S. wages -- 13 to 17 percent more for jobs related to the export of goods.
   
• In 1970, international trade represented 13 percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2003, international trade was 24.1 percent of GDP, or about $3.2 trillion. (Source: Office of U.S. Trade Representative)

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