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U.S. Public Port Facts

The United States is served by some 360 commercial ports that provide approximately 3,200 cargo and passenger handling facilities, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Depending on the individual port facilities, they may accommodate anything from recreational watercraft, to barges, ferries, and ocean-going cargo and passenger ships. Governance of these ports in the United States is a function of various state and local public entities, such as port authorities, port navigation districts and municipal port departments. Currently, there are more than 150 deep draft seaports under the jurisdiction of 126 public seaport agencies located along the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf and Great Lakes coasts, as well as in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Many of these seaport agencies are governed by an elected and/or appointed body, such as a port commission. The top 85 U.S. public seaport agencies are members of, and represented by, AAPA.

• Established by enactments of state government, public port agencies develop, manage and promote the flow of waterborne commerce and act as catalysts for economic growth. These agencies include port authorities, special purpose navigation districts, bi-state authorities and departments of state, county and municipal government.
   
• Seaport authorities develop and maintain the terminal facilities for intermodal transfer of cargo between ships, barges, trucks and railroads. Port authorities also lease land, and in some cases build and maintain facilities, for the growing cruise, excursion and ferry passenger industry. Examples of ports with ferry operations include Port of Portland (Maine), Delaware River Port Authority and Port of San Francisco.
   
• In addition to maritime functions, port authority activities may also include airports, bridges, tunnels, commuter rail systems, inland river or shallow draft barge terminals, industrial parks, Foreign Trade Zones, world trade centers, terminal or short-line railroads, shipyards, dredging, marinas and other public recreational facilities.
   
• Port authorities also play a critical role in our national security, peace-keeping and humanitarian efforts around the world. In particular, ports support the mobilization, deployment and resupply of U.S. military forces.

Port Infrastructure

• In the United States, public ports work closely with private industry, both in the development and financing of marine terminals and other maritime-related facilities. Public ports also serve as sponsors of federal navigation projects that benefit all maritime interests.

In fiscal 2005, U.S. seaports reported investing more $2.1 billion to update and modernize their facilities. This level of investment reflects the public port industry's efforts to address the increasing demands being placed on waterborne transportation through improvements to their marine terminal facilities and related land and waterside connections, as well as meeting today's need for enhanced port security. During the five-year period between 2006 and 2010, 32 of AAPA's 85 U.S. public ports that responded to the Association's annual expenditures survey predicted they would spend $8.6 billion on infrastructure investments, although the combined infrastructure spending during this five-year period of all 85 AAPA-member ports is expected to be much higher. (Source: Source - Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, "United States Port Development Expenditure Report," November 2007, click http://www.marad.dot.gov/Publications/2007/FY%202005%20expenditure%20rpt%20-%20FINAL.pdf to see report)

Port Economic Impact

• Public ports contribute significant benefits to local and regional economies, including generating business development and job opportunities. Commercial port activities in 2007 created employment opportunities for more than 13.3 million Americans, including nearly 12 million who were employed in exporter/importer-related businesses and support industries throughout the U.S. Business activities related to waterborne commerce contributed approximately $3.15 trillion overall to the U.S. economy, and those same businesses paid nearly $212.5 billion in federal, state and local taxes. Saeport activities alone in 2007 accounted for $31.2 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues. (Source - Martin Associates, Lancaster, PA; tel: 717-295-2428; click http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/PDFs/MartinAssociates.pdf for details)

Summary of National Economic Impacts Generated by U.S. Deepwater Seaports - 2007

Cruise Passenger Industry  

• The North American cruise passenger industry, which depends upon public saeports, in 2006 spent $17.6 billion on goods and services in the U.S. Those expenditures generated about 348,000 U.S. jobs. Total economic impact of cruise lines, passengers and their suppliers was $35.7 billion. (Source - Business Research & Economic Advisors, Exton, Pa.) 
   
• Cruise passenger embarkations at all North American ports totaled 12 million in 2006, an increase of 7 percent over 2005. Embarkations at ports in the U.S. rose to 9 million in 2006, for a 4.6 increase over 2005. 
   
• In 2006, U.S. ports accounted for 78 percent of global cruise embarkations
  • The full economic study is loacted at: 2006 Cruise Industry Economic Study (1.4 mb)
  • The 2008 Cruise Industry Market Profile is located at: 2008 Market Profile

Major Port Issues

• Expanding sources for seaport development financing and revenues, including for seaport security measures.
   
• Creating sustainable seaports through a balance of environmental, economic and social responsibility initiatives.
   
• Providing waterside port access through dredging and dredged material disposal.
   
• Securing resources for intermodal landside access to seaports.
   
• Using transportation trust funds for infrastructure development, not deficit reduction.
   
• Enhancing free and fair trade worldwide.

Navigation Channels

• Since 1789 the federal government has authorized navigation channel improvement projects; the General Survey Act of 1824 established the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' role as the agency responsible for the navigation system. Since then, ports have worked in partnership with the Corps of Engineers to maintain waterside access to port facilities.
   
• Over 90 percent of the nation's top 50 ports in foreign waterborne commerce require regular maintenance dredging. Together these ports move nearly 93 percent of all U.S. waterborne commerce in a given year.
   
• Over 300 million cubic yards of dredged material are removed from navigation channels each year. Another 100 million cubic yards are dredged from berths and private terminals. The total, 400 million cubic yards of dredged material, equals a four-lane highway, 20 feet deep, stretching from New York City to Los Angeles.

Cargo

Ports handle a variety of cargo, including bulk, or loose cargo; break-bulk cargo in packages such as bundles, crates, barrels, and pallets; liquid bulk cargo like petroleum; dry bulk such as grain; and general cargo in steel boxes called containers, which are measured in 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs. Leading commodities shipped for domestic and foreign trade through U.S. ports:

• Crude petroleum and petroleum products (such as gasoline, aviation fuel, natural gas)
• Chemicals and related products, including inorganic fertilizers
• Coal
• Food and farm products - wheat and wheat flour, corn, soybeans, rice, cotton, coffee
• Forest products - lumber, wood chips
• Iron and steel
• Soil, sand, gravel, rock, stone

Other products include:

• Automobiles, automobile parts and machinery
• Clothing, shoes, electronics, toys

Customs Revenue

Customs revenues in FY 2007 totaled $33.14 billion. Roughly 70 percent, or $23.2 billion, was attributable to seaport activity. (Source: U.S. Customs & Border Protection, http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/newsroom/publications/admin/fiscal_2007_pub.ctt/fiscal_2007.pdf)

World Trade

Deep draft ports accommodate ocean-going vessels, which move over 99 percent of U.S. overseas trade by weight and 64 percent by value. (Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census)

• The Department of Transportation projects that, compared to tonnages recorded in 2001, total freight moved through U.S. ports will increase by more than 50 percent by 2020 and the volume of international container traffic will more than double.
   
• In 2002 (the latest year for which international data are available), the U.S. was the largest trading nation in the world for both exports and imports of goods and services. The U.S. accounts for roughly 19 percent of the world goods trade and about 15 percent of world services trade.
   
• Between 1970 and 2003, the value of U.S. trade increased 24-fold, and 70 percent since 1994. That was an average annual growth rate of 10.2 percent, which was nearly double the pace of the Gross Domestic Product growth during the same period (6.1 percent vs. 3.1 percent).
   
• U.S. jobs supported by imports and exports of goods and services in 2007 rose to 13.3 million. These jobs pay on average about $49,000 a year, which is about $12,000 a year more than average U.S. wages, according to the Social Security Administration.
   
• In 1970, international trade represented 13 percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2007, international trade (representing imports and exports of all goods and services) was 29.7 percent of GDP, or about $4.78 trillion of the total $14.201 trillion GDP. (Source: Office of U.S. Trade Representative)