Moody’s: FASTLANE program is ‘credit positive’ for ports

Ports in the United States will benefit from the federal government’s effort to improve freight mobility with the so-called FASTLANE program, according to the credit rating agency Moody’s Investor Service.    The credit rating agency Moody’s said ports across the United States will benefit from the federal government’s effort to improve freight mobility with the so-called FASTLANE program.
   In its Credit Outlook publication, Moody’s said the $760 million in 18 grants awarded by the Department of Transportation under the FASTLANE program (also known as the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies) are credit positive for US ports since they support freight mobility projects in 16 states, alleviating congestion at both the ports and the major freight land routes into which they feed.
   “Less congestion increases operating efficiency and throughput rates for ports, saves time and reduces transport costs for shippers,” Moody’s said.
   The FASTLANE is also launching as another significant transportation finance program, the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA), scales down. Although some TIFIA money made its way to ports, it was mainly oriented towards passenger traffic and not freight traffic.
   Ports also receive funds from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMT), but that focuses on dredging harbors, although it says funding levels are “scheduled to increase, which will allow ports to shift capital resources to critical landside projects.”
   “Ports and freight land routes have been strained as the size of container ships doubled over the past two decades,” Moody’s said. “Ports have responded by spending significantly to deepen waterways, upgrade terminal infrastructure and improve intermodal connectivity, all while the federal government provided little financial support.”
   “By focusing on freight mobility projects, the FASTLANE program targets one of the more critical aspects of port operations: throughput and congestion management,” Moody’s added. “Ports typically focus investments ‘inside the fence,’ such as on their terminals and intermodal systems. However, ports function as gateways for shippers, intermediate rather than final points in the movement of freight from both ends of the supply chain, and the fluidity of freight downstream of the port is equally important to shippers in selecting which port to use.”