DOT, Commerce Work Together on Infrastructure

WASHINGTON—The departments of Transportation and Commerce have launched a program to draw shippers into the discussion about transportation infrastructure and the role it plays in global competitiveness.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told an audience of business and transportation leaders on Monday that the two departments will collaborate to learn what shippers want as the government proceeds with developing a new surface transportation bill.

Locke called the Joint Conference on Infrastructure Strategies the starting point for developing a new national action plan based on the recommendations of companies that depend on the national supply chain operating in a “faster, safer, more efficient and environmentally friendly” way.

Locke said that 99 million U.S. jobs in all industry sectors depend on the U.S. supply chain, and the transporation and distribution sector provides another 11 million jobs, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study.

“The supply chain definitely affects the entire economy,” Locke said. While competitiveness in the global marketplace was the ultimate goal, Locke said that 85 percent of all freight movements are domestic.

LaHood noted that DOT and Commerce’s efforts in competitiveness and transportation often operated in parallel, but they were not synchronized. He called on businesses to help define freight transportation through multi-state collaboration, focusing on national freight corridors and defining regional priorities.

Debra Van Opstal, senior vice president of the Council on Competitiveness, said that in the past, transportation interest groups have dominated the debate over new transportation legislation and funding. The conference was the first step in giving companies that depend on the supply chain a voice in the discussion.

The council, which co-sponsored the conference, is made of business and labor leaders, and experts from the academic community.

Van Opstal said that already the Commerce department has conducted focus groups with businesses to find out what they want from transportation policy. The conference Monday will be followed with additional meetings to develop a formal plan of action.