Convergence of Transportation Congestion and Transportation Security at US Seaports

Convergence of Transportation Congestion and Transportation Security at US Seaports
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Abstract
Transportation congestion and insecurity at US seaports are two of the biggest challenges facing the intermodal supply chain industry. While delays at port facilities are a well-documented challenge, truck congestions at seaport gates have worsened the rapidly growing container traffic volume. Transportation congestion and transportation insecurity converge because of the clash between policies that encourage maritime transport on the one hand and ramped-up efforts to deal with a broad array of port insecurities. This research essay conducted secondary research on both port challenges and discovered that transportation congestion in US ports has significant economic, environmental, and operational ramifications, over and above reducing intermodal supply chain industry efficiency. It also determined that port insecurity is mostly because of underfunding and collusion between criminal enterprises and port staff. The paper also made several recommendations on how to address each of the two-port issues.
Convergence of Transportation Congestion and Transportation Security at US Seaports
Introduction
Delays at port facilities are one of the biggest challenges affecting the motor carrier industry. Even though this only impacts the harbor trucker, it remains a severe issue in terms of the efficiency of the intermodal supply chain industry and the port community. The intermodal supply chain industry implements a crucial function of collecting and delivering cargo to and from the seaport for shippers. Truck congestion erodes the ability of the harbor trucking industry to deliver a high level of service to manufacturers and retailers. Most truckers involved in the harbor drayage business are owner-operators which means that their earnings are determined by the number of trips they make and not by the number of hours worked.
Any traffic delays like long waiting lines at port facilities significantly reduce the money they earn. America's seaport truck congestion is a well-recorded issue in freight transportation and logistics issues journals. However, few studies have analyzed the problem even as various parties in the intermodal supply chain continue to complain about the long queue of trucks waiting outside marine container terminals. Most port systems in America have been unable to handle the rapidly increasing volume of container freights, and drivers have to wait for long periods to drop off or pick up a container. Seaport gate congestion problems and subsequent harbor trucking linked challenges in primary container ports like the Port of Long Beach/Los Angeles, Port of New York/New Jersey, and Port of Savannah have been documented over the years.
Moreover, several studies have cited three security weaknesses in America's maritime transportation system: (1) inability to ascertain that the containers arriving in its seaports were loaded at a safe loading dock and that there was little opportunity for terrorists or criminals to compromise the shipment; (2) inability to ascertain the movement and nature of the cargo from its point...