News Release
FOR RELEASE - April 2, 2015
Contact: Aaron Ellis, Public Affairs Director, aellis@aapa-ports.org
(703) 684-5700
American Association of Port Authorities
Phone: (202) 792-4033
www.aapa-ports.org
In an April 21 press event during its annual Spring Conference in Washington, D.C., the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) – the collective voice of public ports in the Americas – will unveil results of its new survey detailing conditions of the land transportation connections with United States seaports, one-third of which need $100 million or more in capital improvements by 2025.
According to AAPA President and CEO Kurt Nagle, land-side connections serve as vital links between U.S. seaports and other segments of the nation’s freight transportation network. “Our new survey reveals the extent to which these connectors to U.S. seaports are deteriorating, have become out-of-date and are overly-congested, particularly as trade volumes continue to grow. Without immediate and significant federal, state and local investments, the poor condition of many of these land connections will threaten the long-term ability of our nation’s ports to efficiently move cargo, create jobs and strengthen the U.S. economy.”
Mr. Nagle further noted that these roadways, bridges, tunnels and rail lines comprise the crucial “first and last mile” connectors with America’s ports and are the very definition of critical infrastructure. “To successfully compete in the global marketplace, our nation’s freight transportation infrastructure … particularly those ‘first and last mile’ links to ports … must be improved, and improved quickly.”
Incorporated in the release of AAPA’s 2015 Surface Transportation Infrastructure Survey: The State of Freight will be new economic impact data and analysis from Martin Associate’s The Local and Regional Economic Impacts of the U.S. Deepwater Port System, 2014, also being released on April 21. In the new Martin Associates report, total economic value of marine cargo activity at U.S. seaports in 2014 was $4.6 trillion, up from $3.2 trillion in the firm’s last nationwide deep-water ports study in 2007. The new report, which reveals significant increases in everything from the jobs generated (23.1 million) to tax revenues associated with cargo moving through America’s ports ($321 billion), helps illustrate the importance of enhancing both the water- and land-side connections with these crucial international gateways. Combined, the results of the two reports point to both the need and urgency for upgrading the transportation connections linking ports with the nation’s freight network.
AAPA’s 2015 Surface Transportation Infrastructure Survey: The State of Freight news conference will begin at 1:30 p.m. in The Mayflower Renaissance Washington DC Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave. NW,
Washington, D.C., and be presented as part of AAPA’s 2015 Spring Conference event, April 20-21.
| WHO: | American Association of Port Authorities (Alexandria, Va.) and Martin Associates (Lancaster, Pa.) |
| WHAT: | Press conference in conjunction with AAPA’s Spring Conference event, announcing results of AAPA’s 2015 Surface Transportation Infrastructure Survey: The State of Freight, and incorporating data from Martin Associate’s The Local and Regional Economic Impacts of the U.S. Deepwater Port System, 2014, also being released on April 21. |
| WHEN: | Tuesday, April 21, from 1:30pm – 2:00pm. (Click here for complete AAPA 2015 Spring Conference program agenda) |
| WHERE: | The Mayflower Renaissance Washington DC Hotel, The State Room, 1127 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 |
| MEDIA: | Professional journalists representing bona-fide media outlets may register for complimentary access to open business sessions (April 20, 12:30pm – 4:15pm and April 21, 10:15am – 4:30pm) by emailing Aaron Ellis at aellis@aapa-ports.org and requesting a media badge. |
Port Name: www.aapa-ports.org
