Sparking the Globalized Trade and Transportation Connection

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the U.S. government and private industry have actively worked to promote global trade. However, sufficient attention has not been paid to updating and improving the corresponding national transportation assets required to take full advantage of the economic opportunities in today's dynamic world market. This paper reviews the growth trends in international trade, including major shifts in the sourcing and distribution of U.S. goods from overwhelmingly domestic systems to increasingly global ones. It highlights the great stresses that these changes in freight movement place on all transport modes, especially those at international gateways, where the modes interface. The paper then examines several structural, conceptual, and funding barriers that the American private and public sectors face in framing an effective response. These transportation and trade conditions are aptly called “wicked problems,” complex problems that sow confusion and fragmentation wherever they arise. The fragmentation that wicked problems create is best faced by increased dialogue and collaboration among key stakeholders. The recommendations for dealing with the critical issues raised here stress the need for better data, the creation of common and compelling overarching goals, and an industry-wide commitment to building, educating, and motivating leadership. Three specific recommendations suggest ways that joint public and private cooperation can move the United States forward in transportation policy and practice: develop a national transportation policy framework, prepare an action plan, and set priorities to direct the needed resources and employ the best talent to move the nation's transportation systems from their lagging 20th-century position to a renewed leadership position for the 21st century.