Nation’sPort: The Voice & Vision
Nation’sPort, promoting the sustainable international movement of goods through a world-class logistics system while building the region’s economy.
A. THE ECONOMICS: A REGIONAL POWERHOUSE
For the New York /New Jersey region, the goods movement industry represents over 500,000 jobs and has an annual aggregate economic impact of $20 billion.
Over 80% of the cargo coming into the Port of New York/New Jersey (the “Port”) is consumed within the regional trade market of over 28 million people.
The Port is the third largest in the US, and more than 1/3 of the nation’s population can be reached within a one-day truck drive.
The Port-based regional goods movement system moves over 100 million tons of cargo and contributes almost $6 billion in aggregate tax revenue to the region.
International trade activity is projected to double by 2020, and some industry experts contend that in order to maintain its current market share, the Port must develop the capacity to handle almost 6 times its current container volume.
B. THE CURRENT SITUATION: MARKET GROWTH, BUT AN ERODING SHARE
Despite recent increases in container volume, the Port is losing market share to more aggressive and better organized ports in the mid-Atlantic and south.
Our region’s congested transportation system, lagging infrastructure investment, scarcity of land and fragmented decision-making responsibility have placed service providers at a competitive disadvantage.
While the products might end up being consumed in our market, the cost basis to process them at this Port is increasing dramatically. Planners and politicians associated with Norfolk, Charleston and Savannah have seen this as an opportunity to take business away from our Port.
C. THE COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGE VERSUS SOUTH ATLANTIC PORTS
Allied private and public interests in the competing states of Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia have recognized the importance of the logistics industry to their future economic growth. Each state has taken significant actions to organize themselves for the purpose of seizing the economic opportunities resulting from increased international trade activity. . Among the measures taken are:
State assemblage of large greenfield sites: with lower development and building costs, and reduced congestion, they can establish much lower business operations costs;
State/municipality/private developer partnerships (PPPs) to market specific sites and transportation assets to individual shippers;
State investments in infrastructure and intermodal assets to broaden their respective market areas; and
States taking the lead role as policy makers and facilitators of private sector involvement.
From this cooperation the following has emerged; comprehensive, coordinated infrastructure investment, land development and service expansion plans – all of which are progressing at a rapid pace.
D. THE OPPORTUNITIES: SUSTAINABLE JOBS AND COMPETITVE SERVICES
Shippers, retailers and logistics firms make long-term location decisions because of the significant capital costs involved. Short-term investments in the infrastructure for a sustainable goods movement industry will create these significant long-term benefits:
High-paying sustainable jobs in the maritime, trucking, railroad, aviation and logistics industries, accessible via mass transit by those residents of the urban areas in close proximity to the Port;
Related infrastructure development and distribution center construction jobs, with historically high economic multiplier benefits;
Job-training partnerships with regional educational institutions to provide a consistently competitive workforce for the industry; and
Competitively priced goods entering our market, without the “net negative” impacts on the environment, infrastructure and quality of life that result from a product entering another port and simply being trucked to our region.
E. THE CHALLENGE: DEVELOPING A UNIFIED VOICE AND VISION
The New York/New Jersey region’s goods movement system lacks both a marketable strategic investment plan and a PPP coalition to deliver that plan. Several transportation agencies in the bi-state region have limited responsibilities for freight-related infrastructure, but there is insufficient collaboration toward easing congestion, maximizing land use and integrating workforce resources. The respective “silos” are not talking to or working with one another to the degree required.
F. WHERE TO START – A STRATEGIC INVESTMENT PLAN
Currently, many entities, both public and private, play individually critical roles in the development of a bi-state strategy to grow the goods movement industry – but their efforts are disjointed. Without a unified strategic plan, the region runs the risk that an individual entity’s performance might be maximized at the expense of another’s, instead of optimizing the performance of the entire goods movement system.
Recognizing the complex interdependencies of each participant in the system – each stakeholder – is a critical first step. Galvanizing each participant toward action can only be accomplished by creating and implementing a strategic plan for infrastructure investment and promotion – the next step.
We must organize and invest to maximize market share, jobs, competitive services and opportunity realization. Our failure to do so is essentially conceding to our southern competitors. We have no choice but to be competitive - to develop our voice and vision for the future.