Today the Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2013 by a vote of 83 to 14. This legislation will ensure the continued investment in our coastal and inland waterways.

It’s no secret that our nation’s aging system of inland waterways and ports are in need of modernization. The lack of investment is catching up to us. Our inland waterways system averages 52 service disruptions per day throughout the system. Manufacturers rely on these waterways to move commodities, finished products and inputs vital to their supply chains. Continued disruptions in the system drive up costs and makes manufacturers less competitive.

The WRDA bill passed by the Senate includes important reforms to improve project delivery and streamline the environmental review process for infrastructure projects sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers. The legislation also includes a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program which will help to leverage investments in critical water infrastructure projects. And importantly the bill assesses the critical issue of under-investment in our ports and harbors by increasing authorized funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for harbor maintenance dredging.

The National Association of Manufacturers sent a Key Vote letter to Senators yesterday urging them to support this important bill. We strongly urge the House to take up and pass a WRDA bill as soon as possible. America’s infrastructure is in great need of investment and WRDA provides us an opportunity to start making investments no in our waterways and ports.

Today the Senate will take up the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act of 2013, S. 601, also known as WRDA. This legislation is critical to the competitiveness of manufacturers throughout the United States and will ensure investment in our 12,000 miles of inland and coastal waterways.  Our nation’s navigable rivers help keep transportation costs competitive and are vital for manufacturers’ supply chains to move products and commodities such as coal, petroleum, chemicals, steel, fertilizer and grain among others valued at approximately $78 billion.

Manufacturers strongly support the measures included in S. 601 to streamline environmental reviews that build off the success of coordinated reviews for federal highway and transit projects. It’s a proven process that works, saving time and money. The Federal Highway Administration recently found that environmental streamlining has cut the time to permit a highway project in half, from 73 months down to 37 months. Reducing red tape to deliver Army Corps-sponsored infrastructure projects is important progress.

We are also hopeful that S. 601 will be enhanced in the days ahead to make the nation’s vast inland waterway system more efficient and competitive. The framework provided by the Reinvesting in Vital Economic Rivers and Waterways (RIVER) Act of 2013, S.407 should be included in the final version of S. 601. A comprehensive capital development plan is necessary to achieve the full potential of a robust inland waterway system.

Too often, funds derived from Harbor Maintenance fees are diverted elsewhere instead of going into our ports and harbors for regular upkeep. The WRDA bill will ensure that the fees collected are fully used for intended harbor maintenance projects. More than 90 percent of the nation’s top 50 ports require dredging and by neglecting ports and harbors we are putting our nation’s manufacturers and industries at a competitive disadvantage.

The Senate’s anticipated swift action this week should signal to the House the importance of soon moving on its version of WRDA legislation.

Manufacturers rely on our nation’s inland waterways and ports to support jobs and grow. Our nation will fall even further behind if we do not make the necessary investments in critical transportation infrastructure.

Robyn Boerstling is director of transportation and Infrastructure Policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works released its bipartisan Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) proposal ahead of a mid-week Committee mark-up.  The draft is an important marker that will get the ball rolling on this long-stalled legislation.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, inland waterway shippers experience –  on average — 52 service interruptions a day on the entire system, meaning locks close due to either construction activity or an outright failure, with the latter increasing in frequency.

Commodities and products critical to manufacturing like coal, steel, fertilizer, petroleum, chemicals and grain among others, move efficiently on the nation’s 12,000 miles of commercially navigable and intra-coastal waterways.  WRDA ensures sustained investment in these commercially relevant waterways so that manufacturing inputs are received and finished products delivered.

Manufacturers also appreciate the Committee’s commitment to addressing the long-standing issue of under-investment in our nation’s ports and harbors. For too long, ocean shippers from nearly every sector of economy have helped finance a robust Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) that has not been allowed to expend funds in a manner that is commensurate with the demands our economy places on the nation’s ports and harbors.

The addition of a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation title that plays off the success of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and improving the environmental review process of Army Corps of Engineers-sponsored projects are welcome developments. The legislation must do what is necessary to move critical infrastructure projects more expeditiously and prevent Corps projects from falling victim to bureaucratic delays and poor project management, sometimes over periods of time that span decades.

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has placed WRDA at the top of its agenda. For manufacturers, WRDA is critical to keeping commerce moving.

Articulating the federal role of transportation was the key theme in today’s inaugural House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing for the 113th Congress. Chairman Shuster set the tone by referencing the Constitution’s Commerce Clause and the settling of an early navigation dispute between Maryland and Virginia. Manufacturers in America have benefited greatly from the nation’s long-standing commitment to infrastructure and need seamless connectivity to survive in today’s competitive climate.

The two-year MAP-21 expires in September 2014 and the Chairman is beginning the reauthorization effort now. While issues like the overdue Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) and passenger rail reauthorization are top on the agenda this year, getting back to a well-funded, long-term surface transportation authorization is a goal manufacturers are fully behind.

Improving our nation’s aging infrastructure is part of the NAM’s Growth Agenda. We must invest and modernize our roads in order to compete and make the United States the best place in the world to manufacture.

Today’s witness former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said it best today, “We can’t be an exceptional country without a world-class infrastructure.”

The President reintroduced some ideas last night on infrastructure. We look forward to working with the Administration to advance rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and dealing with the most pressing challenges facing the transportation network. This will best be achieved by passing a well-funded, multi-year authorization immediately following the expiration of MAP-21 in 2014. (continue reading…)

The Texas Transportation Institute’s Annual Urban Mobility Report just released a fresh set of numbers showing that traffic congestion continues to plague America’s urban roads and interstate corridors. A newly introduced index also measures urban travel-time reliability and the results show that even more time needs to be factored to ensure on-time arrivals associated with appointments, just-in-time deliveries, airplane departures, etc. 

While the new data validates what commuters and users of the freight network experience on our roads every day, it’s a reminder to policymakers that short-term transportation authorizations will not solve the drain that traffic congestion causes our economy. 

The wasted time and fuel comes at an enormous cost to the economy – $121 billion annually. For manufacturers, the unreliability and the cost of congestion add more expense to supply chains that strive to be efficient and competitive. As we seek to be the best place in the world to manufacture and export our American-made products to global customers, we need a transportation system that that is better linked to achieving these goals.

There is no one solution or quick fix to deal with America’s traffic congestion problem, but it needs to be addressed. Two-year transportation bills and long-term funding uncertainty for nearly every mode of transportation – highways, transit, ports, airports and inland waterways – are not sustainable. For a nation that continues to fall in its infrastructure competitiveness rankings each year, a better approach is needed. This report is yet another reminder that our economy is not well-served by neglecting the parts that help keep it moving. 

Robyn Boerstling is director of transportation and infrastructure policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

Contract negotiations between the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) are scheduled to resume this week. Manufacturers urge both sides to reach a resolution to these talks ahead of the February 6 deadline.

The looming threat of a work stoppage in the beginning of February continues to cast a dark cloud over manufacturers who rely on the nation’s East and Gulf Coast ports to export products and receive goods. The economy cannot afford the consequences of any work stoppage at the ports and manufacturers will feel the full impact if both sides cannot come to an agreement.

The $1 billion per day cost of the 10-day West Coast port lockout in 2002 and the months it took to recalibrate the ports from this major disruption needs to be more than a reminder, but an incentive for both sides to soon reach an agreement. 

While manufacturers have planned for a potential disruption and continue to implement costly contingency arrangements in advance of February 6, concluding negotiations with an agreed upon contract before the deadline is the best solution.

Forward exporting, diverting cargo, increasing inventories and renting additional warehouse space do not position manufacturers for growth. Manufacturers will need greater assurances and a strong signal this week that a contract is an achievable goal in order to move beyond this palpable uncertainty.  Global customers need to know now that we will be open for business. 

Robyn Boerstling is director of transportation and infrastructure policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

It is good news for manufacturers that the Office Clerical Unit Local 63 (OCU) and the marine terminal employers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach reached an agreement this week that ended an eight-day work stoppage.

However, more trouble looms on the other side of the country at the East and Gulf Coast Ports as the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) continues its contentious negotiations with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). While these talks are being held under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the outlook does not appear to be positive.

The longshore labor unions, especially on the West Coast, have used work stoppage and slowdown tactics successfully during contract talks to make gains in their contracts, ranging from as far back as the 1971 International Longhshore Warehouse Union (ILWU) strike that Nixon ended after 134 days, to this week’s events with the OCU.  In 2002, the ILWU lockout came at a cost of $1 billion a day to the U.S. economy and eventually delivered to the union what one leader described as “the richest contract we’ve ever negotiated.”   

The maritime industry has often noted the difference of style and culture between ILA and the ILWU, but Mr. Daggett, the current President of the ILA, has made strong statements and new commitments to maritime labor solidarity that show a willingness to be more pugnacious. The success of the ILA in negotiating its contracts with management going back to 1977 without any interruption is likely to be challenged in the next few weeks.

Just as with the West Coast ports, manufacturers need the East Coast ports to be open for business.  With a weak economy and a fiscal cliff on the horizon, manufacturers need the ports to ship and receive critical commodities and finished products in order to keep businesses running and people employed.

The ripple effect of a strike or slow-down would lead to curtailed economic growth, lost jobs and higher prices on goods for all Americans. Manufacturers have faith in the federal mediation process and hope when the parties sit down at the table next week, they keep this in the forefront of their minds. Also, today a group of industry groups, including the NAM, sent a letter to both the ILA and USMA to continue negotiating with the goal of finalizing an agreement without disrubtions to the supply chain.

Robyn Boerstling is director of transportation and infrastructure policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

This afternoon the National Association of Manufacturers joined a broad based coalition of 15 industry groups in filing an amicus brief challenging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Hours of Service final rules for commercial truck drivers. The brief supports the American Trucking Association’s legal challenge to the 34-hour restart change in the regulation.

The restart provisions will place a significant burden on manufacturers, causing a negative impact throughout the supply chain and distribution operations. It will drive up costs, hurting jobs and our competitiveness. Manufacturers rely heavily on trucking for the transport of supplies and finished products. Due to this regulation, more trucks will be placed on the road during peak driving times, adding to the already congested highways across our country and increasing shipping costs.

This is just another regulation that adds to the unfavorable business environment facing manufacturers. We will continue to work with our industry partners to change this burdensome regulation to protect jobs and our competitiveness.

Robyn Boerstling is director of transportation infrastructure, National Association of Manufacturers.

Manufacturers fully support the request made this week by House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor to the President to withdraw the Department of Transportation’s proposed changes to the trucking hours of service rules.  Citing a $1 billion  regulatory burden imposed by these changes and specific impacts to small business, the two House leaders identified this proposed rule as a “helpful first step toward lowering the $1.75 trillion annual cost of federal regulations.”

Manufacturers are heavily dependent on a healthy and competitive trucking sector.  Approximately 80 of shipments measured by value move by truck in the United States and the added costs of the proposed hours of service rule will create unwelcome challenges during a time of high fuel costs and continued economic recovery.  

The federal data shows that current rules have proven successful in achieving reductions in truck-related fatalities and truck accidents.  As we have noted in a comment submitted to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration earlier this year, the proposed hours of service rule changes will undermine manufacturers’ competitiveness, harm productivity and translate to higher consumer prices. 

The proposed rule is inconsistent with the President’s Executive Order on improving Regulation and Regulatory Review and manufacturers encourage the President and House leaders to work together to relieve this anticipated burden on our economy.     

Robyn Boerstling is director of transportation and infrastructure policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

With the six-month surface transportation extension now passed and signed by the President, manufacturers are eager for Congress to complete its long overdue work and get a robust, multi-year surface transportation authorization done in the early months of 2012. 

Twenty CEOs of large manufacturing and service companies echoed this message in a recent letter to the House and Senate leadership. The letter represents an important and relevant perspective from a mix of companies that support the overall manufacturing economy. 

Recognizing that there is “no singular solution to remedy the nation’s economic challenges” and the “need to rein in and prioritize spending,” these CEOs succinctly highlighted why transportation must be part of the pro-growth agenda. 

For these companies, it’s not just about jobs and keeping the transportation system safe and efficient which are critically important to the country.  The United States is in a situation today where our global competitors are outpacing us, building transportation networks for the 21^st century while we continue to hang our hat on what was accomplished in the 1950s and 60s.

Of note and recently highlighted in a report called Falling Apart and Falling Behind by the Building America’s Future Educational Fund, U.S infrastructure has dropped from number one in the world in 2005 to number 15 today according data published by the World Economic Forum. 

For these CEOs, that’s not acceptable and the NAM couldn’t agree more.

Robyn Boerstling, is director of transportation and infrastructure policy, National Association of Manufacturers.