Commerce Department Releases Port Best Practices Document

A new Commerce Department report offers some suggestions toward improving port efficiency based on some best practices used around the country, a Commerce news release said (here). Commerce compiled a list of effective operational practices at individual ports as part of the report (here). “More than 70 percent of America’s international merchandise trade flows through our seaports, linking our producers and retailers with their sources and customers and our nation’s supply chains with the global economy,” Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said in the release. “The efficiency and productivity of U.S. seaports and their connecting infrastructure is crucial to our nation’s ability to successfully compete in the global marketplace.” Increased communications through working groups, use of port information sharing technologies and planning improvements for chassis availability are among the suggested improvements. The report is based on port roundtables and recommendations from the Commerce Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (see 1609010022).