Sea the key to avoiding transportation congestion

U.S. Representative John L. Mica (R-Fla.), ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, hosted a forum on short sea shipping as a solution to freight congestion. According to a study by the Texas Transportation Institute of the Texas A&M University, the inland waterways system is a vital aspect of America’s freight transportation network with a value of about $70 billion which contributes to America’s economic strength.

Mica said that since energy costs are going up and environmental issues are taking center stage, it was important to try to find ways to expand transportation capacity. The forum agreed that the key was to remember that surface transportation involves not only road and rail but sea as well. Representatives of ports, industry and labor agreed that short sea shipping was a strategic key to taking traffic congestion off the roads.

The U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration also offered encouraging statistics regarding energy comparisons for the distance that one gallon of fuel can use to move one ton. The data shows that a truck can move 59 tons/miles per gallon while an inland barge can move 514 tons/miles per gallon.