Ocean shipping and integrated logistics company Horizon Lines has announced this week its road map to develop a United States Marine Highway that would ease congestion around gateway trade corridors and improve the efficiency of America’s transportation system.

Horizon’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Charles Raymond has told attendees at North America’s Marine Highways Conference that the United States needed a working Marine Highway to improve the fuel efficiency of the transportation system, ease highway and rail congestion around the major cities and finally to improve the environment. “A strategic approach to port development within a national freight transportation funding framework will play a key role in creating a viable Marine Highway system.”  commented Raymond.

Raymond called for the creation of a National Port Development Plan to prioritise federal funding of port projects, such as dredging and inland infrastructure construction according to a port’s role in global supply chains.  Horizon’s chairman saying that “Gateway ports with deep water will serve the large containerships and the primary metropolitan consumer markets. Regional ports will provide the intermodal safety valve served by a network of smaller container vessels and RoRo ships, offering fast connections and efficient service to local markets. Inland ports will develop efficient highway alternatives, supporting barge and ferry networks.”

Noting that the freight industry is at a crossroads with the growth of the industry and worldwide economy limited by the restrictive nature of available infrastructure. Raymond concluded his address by confirming the state of the industry “Simply stated,” he said “the global economy will grow only as fast as we are physically able to carry it.”

Horizon Lines itself operates a fleet of 21 United States flagged containerships as well as a total of five port terminals linking the continental United States with Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Micronesia and Puerto Rico.

Source: PR Newswire and Horizon Lines LLC

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