The three Ds of infrastructure

Commentary: Without a regulatory framework, deterioration, diversion and dysfunction will remain.    If the United States is to remain competitive in the global marketplace, the shipping and logistics industry must work together to draw Congress’ focus back to finding long-term solutions to pressing infrastructure issues.
   At a time when politicians would rather fight, yell and tweet, this will not be an easy task, but without the development of a federal investment plan and regulatory framework that will allow for the proper maintenance of and improvements to the nation’s transportation assets, U.S. infrastructure will continue to be characterized by the three Ds: deterioration, diversion and dysfunction.
   The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the country a D+ grade in its latest quadrennial infrastructure report card, published in 2017, and estimated it would take roughly $4.59 trillion over the next decade just to bring that grade up to a B. It wasn’t all bad news, as grades for rail infrastructure rose from a C+ to a B and seaports from a C to a C+, reflecting increased investment in those areas, but the point remains that U.S. transportation infrastructure is deteriorating rapidly due to a lack of adequate funding.
   The interconnections between ports and the rest of the nation’s freight transportation system are failing. And it’s not just aging roads and crumbling bridges that need funding. Federal investment is needed for harbor maintenance, inland waterway locks, railroad operations, intermodal facilities and port terminal efficiency improvements, among other things.
   Both the Highway Trust Fund and Harbor Maintenance Fund have major annual shortfalls, making it difficult for port authorities and freight transportation providers to plan any significant capital expenditures. Compounding matters further, infrastructure advocates say far too much of the money collected by traditional funding methods like the federal gas tax and harbor maintenance tax end up being diverted to other areas.
   It is going to be that much more difficult to secure funding for major multimodal infrastructure projects if the government isn’t putting money collected in the name of infrastructure towards those kinds of projects.
   Federal legislators on both sides of the aisle have long agreed that infrastructure should be a top priority, but as long as the two political parties are more focused on fighting with each other than coming up with concrete solutions, legislative dysfunction will continue to stymie efforts to resolve the infrastructure crisis.
   As difficult as it will be, shippers and logistics providers must come together to convince Congress and the public that failure to address the infrastructure crisis will have a detrimental impact on our nation’s ability to compete globally and the supply chains that are the lifeblood of our economy.