Consider another area discussed at the MARAD conclave: that access roads into terminals, while vital for throughput, are tricky to finance. Tolling (here, tied to box movements) is hardly a new idea, but its success in other transport modes - think privatised motorways - bodes well for applicability to the maritime mode.

Prominent infrastructure bankers at the meeting reminded the uninitiated that construction of “greenfield” investments is difficult for the private sector to finance. But, numerous precedents exist for investment to be recouped over a long concession agreement and the publishing of a major report before year-end could make interesting reading.

A Department of Transportation (DoT) Study Commission that was formed under Section 1099 of the “SAFETEA-LU”- which authorised $244bn of Federal transport funding over a multi-year period - is working to examine not only the condition and future needs of the nation's surface transportation system, but also short- and long-term alternatives to replace or supplement the fuel tax as the principal revenue source to support the Highway Trust Fund over the next 30 years.

At various “outreach” sessions, particularly in maritime centres, the DoT is constantly hearing about the vital importance of the maritime interface with the road network whenever the talk turns to supply chains. We can but hope that Study Commission’s report will offer creative and actionable approaches for financing the waterfront infrastructure interfacing with the highway network.