Kickstart a port funding campaign

Send the one from the New York Times describing a Chinese company possibly helping Californians build out their high speed rail system. Or maybe the Financial Times article about China (expecting 10% GDP growth this year) helping open up Mongolian supply chains to reach Chinese receivers and export terminals.

Am I suggesting an email campaign, aimed in the direction of Washington, DC (where growth expectations hover around 2%), to point out the importance of infrastructure to those who can influence its funding? Well, yes…the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so keep hitting that “send” button.

In early April, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that MARAD would be awarding around $7m for grants under the America’s Marine Highway programme, positioned as a down payment on further projects. As they say in New York, “that’s chump change”, albeit useful currency for ports if more funding is indeed forthcoming.

At the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) Spring Conference, held in late March at a venue about a mile from Capitol Hill, Congressman James Oberstar (who need not get the aforementioned emails), asked those in attendance: “What’s wrong with us?”. Congressman Oberstar, overseeing a House committee on transport and infrastructure, clearly gets the message about the importance of seaports in a multi-modal approach to transport planning. But, that message is not easy to sell.

Yes, the new MARAD grants, along with further TIGER money to be awarded in the coming months, and maybe even the much talked about Infrastructure Bank, all play an important role in planting seeds for something bigger. But, until ports and rail spurs begin to arouse the passions of say, healthcare, or financial regulatory reform, port interests need additional tools for getting their message out.

AAPA’s annual event – to be held later this year, in Halifax will include a session on social networking. The tools are ideal, if used properly, to create the grass roots buzz about ports’ important role in US infrastructure, to be part of ongoing conversations about regional economics, and to gain attention of Representatives on Capitol Hill.