PORT INFRASTRUCTURE :
Canadian and U.S. port infrastructure funding and policy By Phil Davies, Principal, Davies Transportation Consulting Inc.; Hanh Le-Griffin Director, Ports & Marine Terminals, Hatch Engineering; and Darryl Anderson, Managing Director, Wave Point Consulting
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laying an integral role in economies around the world, ports not only facilitate the movement of imports and exports critical for a nation’s GDP, but they also act as a significant source of family-wage jobs throughout each country. In a previous issue of Pacific Ports Magazine, the authors of this article observed that shifting economic conditions, customer expectations, the emergence of new technologies, and ever-tightening environmental regulations are constant pressures facing ports and their customers. Moreover, confronting logistics and intermodal transportation challenges continue to factor greatly in port and regional trade competitiveness. The Northwest Seaport Alliance (Seattle/Tacoma) and the California ports of Oakland, Los Angeles, and Long Beach recently commissioned a study to assess and understand the differences between Canadian and U.S. port infrastructure funding and governance policies. In addition to the study commissioners, additional significant regional ports in each country were assessed – namely, the ports of Nanaimo and Port Alberni in British Columbia; Bellingham, Everett, and Vancouver in Washington State; and San Francisco, Stockton, Hueneme, and San Diego in California. Understanding federal funding of port infrastructure is vital for at least two reasons. First, U.S. Pacific coast ports compete directly with ports in Western Canada for container cargo volumes in the Transpacific trade. While U.S. Pacific Coast Ports are committed to maintaining thriving gateways for global trade, nevertheless, Canadian West Coast Ports’ share of
Improving the efficiency of existing infrastructure requires strategic investments that enable ports to handle current volumes and grow capacity. intermodal traffic to the U.S. Midwest has increased from two percent to 22 percent since 2007. Second, the goal of the study is to identify port administrative policies and funding initiatives that may be required to ensure that the needs of exporters, importers and consumers across the continent are well served in the days and years ahead. As the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Build Back Better Act start to take shape, the study’s findings should provide great insight and guidance on funding priorities.
Overall findings
The scope of the study included a review of government funding programs for port and transportation infrastructure related to British Columbia, Washington, and California ports from 2005 to 2021. The review of the relevant Canadian and American transportation infrastructure funding sources included the following eight features: • Formula Funding Programs • Formula Funding Eligibility • Discretionary Funding Programs • Primary Granting Agency • Policy Focus • Discretionary Program Eligibility • Infrastructure Eligibility • Contribution Limits Based on the selected ports and transportation infrastructure funding features, the study revealed that investment in high-capacity, high-efficiency infrastructure has been a national priority in
Canada. From 2016-2020, B.C. ports received US$372 million in Direct Port project funding compared with US$45 million for Washington State ports, and US$179 million for California ports. “Direct Port” projects are projects for which a port is the lead agency and/or the infrastructure funded is either on or directly adjacent to port property. Infrastructure funding differentials, to the extent that they impact the efficiency of goods movement, contribute significantly to the relative competitiveness of a particular port or gateway region. Canadian ports have received more than double the federal funding levels compared to U.S. West Coast ports. Improving the efficiency of existing infrastructure requires strategic investments that enable ports to handle current volumes and grow capacity. To remain competitive, the U.S. must plan for and prioritize investment in ports.
Major ports and gateways
The major ports included in the analysis vary significantly in size and cargo characteristics. The Port of Vancouver, for example, is the largest single port by tonnage in Canada, with a total of 144 million tonnes in 2019 (115 million tonnes of foreign cargo and 30 million tonnes of domestic cargo). Bulk and breakbulk cargo accounted for over 80 percent of the total. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach combined handled 130 million tonnes, of which 67 percent was containerized cargo. February 2022 — PACIFIC PORTS — 17
