U.S. DOT announces $450 million in available funding for port projects

In an effort to improve the nation’s supply chain, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced nearly $450 million in available grant funding for port-related projects.

According to a Department of Transportation news release, the Feb. 23 announcement marks the largest investment ever in the Port Infrastructure Development Program. The recently passed infrastructure law will invest $17 billion in ports and waterways.

“We’re proud to announce this funding to help ports improve their infrastructure – to get goods moving more efficiently and help keep costs under control for American families,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the news release. “President Biden is leading the largest-ever federal investment in modernizing our country’s ports, which will improve our supply chains and the lives of Americans who depend on them.”

The grants are part of the administration’s Port Action Plan, which is geared toward strengthening the supply chain and address inflation. The Department of Transportation’s one-year supply chain report is scheduled to be released on Thursday, Feb. 24.

“The historic investments made by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help remove bottlenecks by enabling ports to expand capacity and improve intermodal connections,” acting Maritime Administrator Lucinda Lessley said in the news release. “The grant funds will also create new jobs across the U.S. maritime industry.”

A briefing on the Port Infrastructure Development Program was planned for Wednesday afternoon. The Department of Transportation also is planning to release a series of webinars explaining the grant application process. May 16 is the deadline to apply.

For more information, email PIDPgrants@dot.gov.

Trucking Action Plan

In addition to the Port Action Plan, the administration announced a Trucking Action Plan in December.

Over the first 30 days of the initiative, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Department of Labor were charged with starting an in-depth study of driver compensation, including the time drivers spend waiting to pick up or drop off freight without getting paid.

Actions slated over the first 90 days of the initiative included launching a task force to promote the recruitment, inclusion and advancement of women in trucking, as well as the creation of a task force to investigate predatory leasing arrangements “that dissuade drivers from entering or staying in the industry.”

At the end of the 90 days, the White House said the “DOT and DOL will deliver a comprehensive action plan, informed by its series of listening sessions, outlining any further administrative and regulatory actions the Administration can take to support quality trucking jobs.”

The 90-day mark will be reached in mid-March.

Although we are still weeks away from that announcement, Buttigieg continues to tout the need for compensating truck drivers properly.

“If you’ve eaten something today, if you got dressed this morning, if you like the device you’re using to read this … thank a truck driver,” Buttigieg tweeted from his @SecretaryPete account on Feb. 23. “Now we need to make sure these essential workers get the compensation and working conditions they deserve.”

If you’ve eaten something today, if you got dressed this morning, if you like the device you’re using to read this…thank a truck driver.

Now we need to make sure these essential workers get the compensation and working conditions they deserve.

— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 23, 2022

In January, Buttigieg told NBC that truck drivers need to be paid enough to show that they are essential workers and that, under the current system, too many truckers aren’t compensated for all of their time. LL