Mohsin Syed Chief of Staff at U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) | Official Website
Yesterday, following the official reopening of the Port of Baltimore, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard convened a meeting with businesses and supply chain industry partners to discuss progress in restoring business to the port. On March 26, vessel traffic was suspended due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Secretary Buttigieg thanked participants for their efforts in the wake of the tragedy to work together to keep local workers employed and mitigate negative economic fallout for the Baltimore community and the country. He shared how the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) utilized infrastructure funding to expand capacity for additional cargo at Tradepoint Atlantic and employed DOT’s Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) initiative to improve visibility into cargo being re-routed to other East Coast ports.
National Economic Advisor Brainard discussed the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government approach to tackling economic disruptions, maintaining low costs across the supply chain, and aiding Baltimore's recovery from the collapse. She credited President Biden’s Supply Chain Disruption Task Force for facilitating collaboration among government, business, and labor sectors to identify and address challenges, reroute cargos temporarily, and ensure shippers' commitment to a full return to Baltimore.
Businesses that rely on the port expressed gratitude towards the Biden-Harris Administration for taking decisive action in response to the bridge collapse. One company highlighted how collaborative efforts helped save jobs and keep a factory operational. Across the supply chain, participants appreciated the Administration’s efforts to bring stakeholders together to address challenges and maintain open lines of communication. Ocean carriers noted that their vessels were returning to Baltimore after debris was quickly removed from the federal channel by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
