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Ports & Harbors
NOAA National Sea Grant


Sea Grant’s Interest in the field of marine transportation

container ship at portSea Grant embraces the principles of sustainable development. We need our Ports AND we need a healthy environment. Solutions to port needs, environmental needs, and security needs must be based on sound science. Sea Grant provides credible scientific information related to the issues facing the nation’s maritime transportation industry, enabling it to meet its challenges in a safe and responsible manner.


Importance of marine transportation to the national economy

tugboat tows container bargeDid you know?....

  • On average, every state in the U.S. relies on 13 to15 ports located throughout the country to manage its trade.
  • Wal Mart is the nation’s No. 1 importer of containerized goods.
  • The Marine Transportation System includes:
    • 1000 harbor channels
    • 300 ports
    • 25,000 miles of inland, intracoastal and coastal waterways
    • 1,900 deep-draft terminals

      All of which are connected to
    • 152,000 miles of rail
    • 460,000 miles of pipeline
    • 45,000 miles of interstate highways

U.S. Foreign Trade via Ocean Container Transport
20 Largest U.S. Exporters

Rank Exporter Product Rank Exporter Product
1 America Chung Nam, Inc. Wastepaper 11 DaimlerChrysler Mfg-Automobiles
2 Weyerhaeuser Company Forest/Paper Products 12 Tyson Foods, Inc. Food
3 E.I. duPont de Nemours & Company Chemicals 13 General Electric Company Conglomerate
4 Cargill, Inc. Food-Diversified 14 Altria Group Inc. Food, Beverages, Tobacco
5 Cellmark Group Paper 15 ConAgra Foods, Inc. Food-Diversified
6 Georgia-Pacific Group Forest/Paper Products 16 BASF Corp. Chemicals
7 MeadWestvaco Corp. Paper/Paper Products 17 J.C. Horizon Ltd. Paper
8 International Paper Company Paper/Paper Products 18 Englehard Corp. Chemicals/ Metals
9 Dow Chemical Co. Chemicals/ Plastics/ Agricultural 19 Allan Co. Paper
10 Procter & Gamble Company Mfg-Consumer Products 20 Dunavant Enterprises Inc. Cotton

Source: Journal of Commerce, Volume 5, Issue 22,
May 31-June 6, 2004

U.S. Foreign Trade via Ocean Container Transport
20 Largest U.S. Importers

Rank Importer Product Rank Importer Product
1 Wal-Mart Retail 11 Payless Shoe Source Inc. Retail
2 The Home Depot Retail 12 Ashley Furniture Industries Mfg. Furniture
3 Target Corporation Retail 13 Matsushita Electric Corp. of America Mfg. Electronics
4 Dole Food Company Food 14 Sony Corp. of America Conglomerate
5 Chiquita Brands Intl. Inc. Food 15 American Honda Motor Co. Mfg. Auto & Transport
6 Lowe's Companies Retail 16 General Electric Co. Conglomerate
7 Kmart Corporation Retail 17 Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.. Mfg. Auto & Transport
8 Heineken USA, Inc. Beverages 18 Pier 1 Imports Inc. Retail
9 Interbrew SA. Beverages 19 Big Lots Inc. Liquidator Retail
10 Ikea International A/S Retail 20 LG Group Conglomerate

Source: Journal of Commerce, Volume 5, Issue 22,
May 31-June 6, 2004

Ports & Harbors Outreach

The Ports and Harbors program is involved in Sea Grant’s traditional functions of research, outreach, and education/communication. This involvement includes activities such as the following:

  • Increasing the understanding among many federal, state, and local agency officials about the importance of the marine transportation industry by lectures, speeches, and papers delivered by the marine transportation specialists.
  • Providing a link between the marine transportation industry and academia by active involvement in a number of associations focused on maritime transportation.
  • Increasing public awareness of marine transportation issues by lecturing and hosting public meetings on issues such as pollution, security, and economic impacts.
  • Increasing awareness among graduate students in public policy about the issues surrounding marine transportation by teaching courses and guest lecturing.
  • Functioning as an honest broker of science to aid in the decision-making process for ports, harbors, and marine transportation issues.

Critical Issues

The following is a partial list of the many critical issues facing the marine transportation, especially port authorities:

  • Supply chain security
  • The impact of ever-increasing ship size on ports and the connected transportation network
  • Non-port land uses which are encroaching on some seaports
  • 24/7 terminal operations
  • Lack of room for many ports to expand operations inland
  • Rail/road traffic at ports handling containerized cargo
  • Air emissions from ships and trucks
  • Habitat degradation from port operations and construction
  • Invasive species (ballast water concerns)
  • Effect of operations on endangered species
  • Dredging and disposal
  • Trade and regulatory policies
  • Waterway infrastructure maintenance
  • Environmental monitoring and management requirements

Contact Information

Jim Kruse
Sea Grant National Ports and Harbors Specialist
Texas Sea Grant/Texas Transportation Institute
701 North Post Oak, Suite 430
Houston, TX 77024
713-686-2971
J-kruse@ttimail.tamu.edu

James A. Fawcett, Ph.D.
Marine Transportation/Seaport Specialist
Sea Grant Program, MC-0373
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0373
213-740-4477
fawcett@usc.edu

Dave Knight
Project Manager
Transportation and Sustainable Development
Great Lakes Commission
Eisenhower Corporate Park
2805 S. Industrial Hwy,
Suite 100
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-6791
734-971-9135
dknight@glc.org


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