WASHINGTON — As part of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has released a Four-year Review of the Supply Chains for the Transportation Industrial Base, within the White House 2021–2024 Quadrennial Supply Chain Review (QSCR)—an inaugural four-year assessment of progress made strengthening supply chains.
According to a press release, when President Biden arrived in office in January 2021, America’s supply chains were in disrepair from the COVID-19 pandemic and decades of underinvestment. Under the leadership of President Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, DOT strengthened supply chain resilience by working alongside other agencies, easing freight congestion and improving multimodal connectivity. Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, DOT has also made historic investments to modernize ports, rail systems, and highways, increase truck parking near interstates around the U.S., and restore America’s transportation systems.
“In less than four years, we’ve gone from supply chain disruptions unlike anything we’ve seen in peacetime, to much higher levels of resiliency and reliability. That work has helped make it possible to move record levels of cargo in and out of the U.S., bring shipping costs down, and ensure essential goods arrive on time,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
In addition to the historic funding from the infrastructure law, DOT stood up the Office of Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy (Multimodal Freight Office) to oversee the maintenance and improvement of the nation’s freight network and supply chains. This office created DOT’s Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) program. Programs such as FLOW, which bring together freight carriers, cargo owners, logistics providers, port operators, and trade associations, have successfully improved supply chain visibility and allowed different parts of the supply chain better anticipate shipments. Efficient supply chains enable American businesses to deliver goods faster and reduce costs for consumers. DOT is also working to establish the National Multimodal Freight Network to assist states in directing resources toward improved system performance for the efficient movement of freight on the Network, to inform freight transportation planning, and to assist in the prioritization of federal investment.
The FLOW program has grown from zero members in spring 2022 to 86 data-sharing participants. These members include:
- 11 of the world’s largest ocean carriers
- Nine of the largest U.S. container ports
- Ten of the largest US importers
- 75% of all US container imports and 80% of US container terminal capacity
According to the release, while much has been done throughout the four years of the Biden-Harris Administration to revitalize our supply chains, DOT has identified key priority actions to maintain resilience and safeguard the U.S. economy. These recommended actions include:
- Strengthen domestic manufacturing of port cranes to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers through onshoring initiatives, financial incentives, and regional partnerships with ally and partner nations.
- Support domestic shipbuilding and nearshoring to boost ship production by considering tax incentives and workforce development programs, while also prioritizing military and commercial shipbuilding to enhance national security.
- Expand domestic EV manufacturing to focus on increasing the production of batteries and critical components domestically, reducing dependency on foreign entities of concern in international supply chains. This effort will be supported by sustainable mining and recycling practices in collaboration with global partners.
- Increase supplier diversity in aerospace manufacturing.
- Improve data transparency to enhance supply chain resilience by expanding the use of the Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) platform.
The release also noted that these strategic actions emphasize the need for collaboration between the public and private sectors to build a more resilient, adaptable, and sustainable transportation network. Through targeted investments, policy alignment, and international partnerships, the U.S. transportation industrial base is positioned to meet future challenges, support national security, and drive economic growth and innovation in the years ahead.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
