Develop a sustainable container marine highway corridor on a scale comparable to major rail and highway corridors. 

Develop of a Large Scale Containerized Marine Highway Corridor

The 3Gi strategy includes the development of a large scale of containerized marine highway corridor or network that rivals any major highway or rail corridor.  In order to be defined as large scale, the corridor would need to account for a total annual volume of 1 million twenty-feet equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, or 4,000 TEUs per day. In comparison, the Rhine River's container volumes are in excess of 3 million TEUs annualy.    

Focus on the Major Waterway Systems

While there are other viable marine highway corridors in the United States, the 3Gi strategy focuses on a river system that presents the greatest opportunity for accessing mid-country and coastal markets on barge.  Much like the highway and rail systems have played a dual role serving both bulk and container markets, these waterway systems, which have historically served the nation's mid-country bulk markets with barge transportation services, can also evolve into dual roles.  

Reliable, Rapid & Scheduled Services  

America's Marine Highways need a new set of vessel technologies to provide more rapid, reliable and scheduled services. Currently, the "tug and barge tow" vessel model serving the Marine Highway system is very well suited for the bulk sectors. The tug barge tow can move a great deal of volume at very low cost.  While this model works well for bulk, it is not suitable for the highly service oriented container and ro/ro markets.  Shippers that move these types of cargoes expect reliable services, that are precisely scheduled, reduce transit times, while keeping costs below the rail and truck alternatives. Moreover, shippers of containerized goods are focused on meeting vessel cuts at ocean ports, and reliability is priority one.  The experience in Europe shows that frequency and level of service are key to gaining any measurable degree of market share. And the key aspect of the European success is the self propelled barge vessel.  What the Rhine barges offer in higher speeds and faster turnaround times, the US flat barge marginally makes up for in terms of fleet integration and operational redundancy; Flexibility to service several terminals and ports, optimizing scheduling, while at the same time enhancing economics by increasing the scale of the shipment. Current line-haul speeds in the tug barge industry average around 5-7 knots.  In order to meet container shipper needs, newer vessels offering line-haul speeds of between 12-17 knots are needed.  

The Need for Significant International Gateway Investments on the US Gulf Coast  

Develop at least 4 million TEUs in ocean container handling capacity at and around the mouth of the Mississippi River. While some level of containers are handled by gateway ports in the vicinity of the Mississippi River’s base (referring to the area along the Gulf coast from New Orleans to Mobile), there is no major container gateway.  This is the greatest obstacle to container barge traffic development.  Currently, the entire Gulf Coast region handles approximately 2 million TEUs annually, 7% of all US ports.  Most of the Gulf's container capacity is at the Port of Houston, with only 20 percent located at the base of the Mississippi, less than 1.5% of US container port volumes. However, the Panama Canal’s expansion is driving Gulf Coast container handling capacity.  Plans for total container capacity along the entire Gulf Coast totals in excess of 9 million TEUS over the next decade, up from 2 million TEUs currently. The vicinity of the Mississippi River’s base from New Orleans to Mobile could exceed 4 Million TEUs within 10 years (xcludes expansion plans at the Ports of Houston, Tampa and other Gulf Coast ports not in the vicinity of the Mississippi River’s base). The completion of the plans is critical to the marine highway aspect of the 3Gi strategy.   

Build on Existing Concentrations of Upstream Economic Activity

The more than 20 states served by the Mississippi and Tenn-Tom systems are the nation’s manufacturing center and breadbasket, offering enough upstream activity to support full-scale COB operations, on par with major highway and rail freight corridors. These markets are currently being served by land bridge rail services from the west coast as well as by truck and rail from the east and gulf coasts.

Mode Shift Policies and Mechanisms

Major European container port gateways like Rotterdam use modal diversity criteria as part of their tenant lease evaluation process.  The impending growth in container handling terminal capacity along the Gulf Coast presents an opportunity for instituting mode enhancing strategies and policies.  Implementing mode enhancing tactics at the outset of container traffic development is critical to the success of container trade development in the region as a whole. 

Market Segmentation 

Passive supply side approaches and the reliance on trends such as converging transport costs are not achieving the needed results.  Market segmentation provides a tactical means for optimally directing policies, funding, incentives, promotion, marketing and project development efforts at segments of the waterway system that provide the most ideal conditions for operating container barge services.  The region’s higher value merchandise and trade sectors currently served by truck and rail intermodal services are sufficient enough in volume and density to respond favorably to the benefits of COB services.  Targeting container cargoes with a value per ton will container barge services a greater competitive edge (less that $5,000 to $7,500 per ton).  

Build on a Growing Level of Public Interest and Support  

Public (government) interest in container barge services is growing, as is evident from the Maritime Administration's (MARAD) Marine Highways Program which was fully implemented in April 2010, and the encouraging level of Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) II funding that went toward it.  The proposed waterway system that forms the basis for the  3Gi strategy are a central artery to MARAD's 11 designated Marine Highway Corridors, specifically corridors M-10, M-55, M-65 and M-70.  

MARAD's Marine Highway Corridors

Extra - The American Association of Port Authorities' (AAPA) Remmendations 

To provide incentives for removing cargo from America’s most congested roadways and putting it on the water, AAPA advocates exempting the domestic U.S. port-to-port portion of the federal Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT). Doing so will make shipping domestic freight by water more affordable, promoting the more environmentally-friendly option of using short sea shipping (aka, America’s Marine Highways) while reducing congestion and increasing the capacity of some of the nation’s busiest roads.

Although well developed in Europe, this type of shipping is only in the evolutionary stages in the U.S. 

In recent years, transportation planners have been struggling to identify ways to move people and goods more efficiently. Because expansion of highway and rail infrastructure is expensive, difficult and time consuming, there’s a real concern that our nation's transportation system is constraining economic growth.

The federal HMT has long been an impediment to greater utilization of our nation’s inland and intracoastal waterways for domestic cargo movements. That’s because the 0.125% ad valorem tax, which is assessed on cargo value, must be paid by importers and domestic waterborne cargo shippers. However, no such freight tax is levied on those who use landside transportation systems.

To further support development of America’s Marine Highways, the AAPA also advocates:

• Federal funding support for America’s Marine Highways services.

• Establishment of a new program, similar to the ferry boat discretionary program, and encouraging more utilization of current federal programs such as the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.

• Incentives for shippers that utilize America’s Marine Highways, such as a green tax credit.

• Development of expertise at the state/Metropolitan Planning Organization level on marine highway alternatives and benefits.

• Reassessment of federal shipbuilding programs and exploring how they could support marine highway development.