US FLOW initiative starts publishing data on inland freight hubs

The FLOW private-public partnership was launched two years back to create a more complete, shared picture of the US supply chain for members, which now include the five largest US container ports, seven of the largest ocean carriers and nine of the twenty largest retailers by imports, and has over sixty companies in the onboarding process.

This data will help inform capacity decisions and avoid supply chain challenges like delays for FLOW participants that will ultimately help reduce costs for consumers.

A recent analysis from the White House Council of Economic Advisors found that supply chains normalising in some form explain more than 80 per cent of the disinflation the United States has experienced since 2022, a DOT press release said.

FLOW complements work happening across DOT to invest in supply chains through President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

Earlier this month, the US Maritime Administration announced that $450 million from BIL is available through the Port Infrastructure Development Programme (PIDP), part of the $17 billion specifically included in the infrastructure law to strengthen coastal and inland waterway ports.

In January this year, DOT announced nearly $5 billion in grants to build or repair infrastructure projects that will ease trucking bottlenecks and improve the movement of freight across the country.

DOT and supply chain stakeholders are applying lessons learned from the pandemic-caused disruptions as it helps manage changes in freight traffic resulting from the Houthi rebel attacks against vessels in the Red Sea, as well as the reduction of traffic in the Panama Canal due to drought conditions.

The department has held regular listening sessions with the freight industry and mariners since the Houthi attacks began last year and have worked with FLOW participants to leverage data on shifting traffic caused by the ensuing disruptions.

Through the FLOW initiative, DOT collects, aggregates and anonymises key information shared by participants on inbound containerised freight, starting with importer purchase orders, and aligns future demand volumes against current regional capacity to move ocean containers.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)