The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced its partnership with supply chain companies to launch a new data exchange in order to strengthen the country's supply chains.
The Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) initiative aims to develop shared data infrastructure that gives companies information to proactively address supply chain challenges, according to a May 3 news release. The data exchange will provide a forward-looking, integrated view of container volumes and equipment in the U.S.
"This has never existed before, but now that it is here we will see benefits nationwide as goods move more quickly and efficiently through our supply chains," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in the release.
This is the first-ever nationwide multimodal freight data exchange and marks a significant milestone for the initiative, the release reported.
The FLOW team developed a data exchange to pool information on goods movement, including incoming container volumes and available logistics equipment, according to the release. The exchange will improve transparency across supply chain networks, making supply chains more resilient and able to adapt when faced with an anomaly.
FLOW is part of the Biden-Harris administration's efforts to address the structural weaknesses in the goods movement chain that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed, the release reported.
"This, paired with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s generational investment in our ports, highways and other parts of our physical infrastructure, will tackle decades of underinvestment in the strength, sustainability and resiliency of the American freight system," the release said.
DOT is serving as an independent data steward for participants to exchange supply and demand information to be aggregated, anonymized and returned for a holistic view of freight movement, the release reported.
Currently, the FLOW initiative has 53 member companies, and is expected to grow in the coming months. According to the release, the initiative started with 18 founding members.
