White House Launches Pilot for Supply Chain Information Exchange Initiative

The White House launched a pilot for a new supply chain information sharing system to allow for better exchange of freight data between U.S. ports, ocean carriers, terminals, logistics companies and other businesses. The Freight Logistics Optimization Works, announced March 15, will help provide companies and other supply chain actors with important information about the movement of cargo by helping to ensure more consistent early return dates for containers, more accurate chassis availability and estimates of “aggregate dwell time throughout the supply chain,” the White House said. The system, led by the Department of Transportation, will feature an initial set of 18 industry participants, including FedEx, UPS, Target, the ports at Long Beach, Los Angeles and Georgia, as well as terminal operators, trucking companies and chassis providers.

The system will look to address the current “lack of information exchange” throughout the U.S. supply chain, which can “cause delays as cargo moves from one part of the supply chain to another, driving up costs and increasing goods movement fragility,” the White House said. “FLOW is designed to support businesses throughout the supply chain and improve accuracy of information from end-to-end for a more resilient supply chain.”