American Association of Port Authorities | 11
Many of our land and water connections
are insufficient and outdated, affecting the
ports’ ability to move cargo efficiently. This
hurts U.S. business, U.S. workers and our na-
tional economy.
With growing international trade vol-
umes now accounting for more than a
quarter of U.S. Gross Domestic Product,
America’s ports are the nation’s economic
lifeline, handling more than 99 percent of
the country’s non-NAFTA imports and ex-
ports. These seaports support 13.3 million
U.S. jobs, which account for $649 billion
in annual personal income. Consequently,
federal investments in seaports have proven
to be an essential and effective utilization of
limited resources, paying dividends through
increased trade and commerce, long-term
job creation, secure borders, environmental
stewardship and more than $200 billion in
federal, state and local tax revenue.
Given the history of federal underinvest-
ment in freight movement infrastructure,
what must the nation do to ready its ports
for the future?
First, the federal government must make
funding for dredging maintenance and im-
provements a higher priority. Congress
must pass legislation that results in more
funding for port, freight and landside in-
