Election: full steam ahead

On “the day after”, I am hoping- along with millions of others, for some calm, after one of the most contentious election seasons in memory. Hopefully, the recent divisiveness will fade into the clouds. For me, it’s nice to be surrounded by folks who have positive things to say, and are respectful of others’ opinions. Two weeks prior to Election Day, I encountered such a group, which included port executives, and business people, from around the States (and further abroad, in a few cases) at the annual convention of the International Propeller Club, held in Tampa, Florida. Last year, I had joined the Board of the club’s chapter in New York/ New Jersey, so I was eager to attend.

The business around the ports and harbors has certainly evolved since the 1920’s, when the Propeller Club came about (apparently New York was at the epicenter, or so I’ve been told)- with a mission of bringing folks together, at that time, with a hefty dose of personal meetings. In this digital age (I will avoid the A- word- “automation” in this article, but it’s obviously on peoples’ minds), I was delighted to engage in person with folks who are all committed, in their own ways, to seeing success at their ports. Yes, there is a competitive element as ports improve interchanges and develop infrastructure in ways that could snare cargo bound for/ coming from an extensive hinterland. But the spirit is positive; economic growth is good for everyone.

In election season, there are always articles and these days, podcasts/ webinars offering opinions of how the election results will impact the shipping and maritime businesses. Though I’ve written a few such articles (reluctantly- I should add…but always losing out to editors’ insistence), I am not sure about there being any profound impacts depending on the election results. One shipowner said at a recent Capital Link conference (and I quoted him in an article), “Shipping always adapts…to whatever disruption there is”. I would offer a similar nugget re the operations around ports; there is a common interest in keeping cargo moving and enhancing its movement. Increasingly, the ports have done a good job communicating this to legislators up on Capitol Hill, who, in turn, are hearing the message. Indeed, at the Propeller Club gathering that I mentioned, a member of Congress representing the Tampa area, already quite familiar with matters in the port, was walking around and listening carefully.

So, to sum it up, the mood at the Propeller Club confab, indicative of the ports’ mindset, was full steam ahead. That bodes very well for the years ahead.