I spent a couple of days last week at the Waterways Council Inc.’s 14th Annual Waterways Symposium in Mobile, Ala. The following are a few interesting tidbits of information that I either did not know or had forgotten about:
• Ports in the Gulf of Mexico are starting to integrate with air cargo carriers.
• China’s middle class is about the same size as the U.S. population.
• Since spring 2016, there has been a container-on-barge service moving containers of plastic resins between Memphis, Tenn., Baton Rouge, La., and New Orleans.
• The influence of hurricanes on the U.S. gross domestic product in the third quarter was less than expected.
• Water levels at inland waterways locks and dams don’t just rise and stay up. They fluctuate up and down.
• The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) includes about 80 ports across the nation.
• About 95% of the world population and 80% of world consumption comes from outside the U.S.
• Energy independence can lead to energy dominance, and the tone from the White House is focused more on the latter.
• Lower prices for a barrel of oil have led to lower gas prices, which put more money into consumers pockets and eventually into the U.S. economy.
• The world is paying attention to what the U.S. does every day.
• A stronger dollar going forward will impact export prospects.
• Olmsted Locks and Dam is on schedule to open in mid-June 2018.
• Over the next decade, $66 billion will be needed to fix port infrastructure.
• Ports with depth restrictions are leaving money on the dock.
• Walmart is building a $135 million regional distribution center in Mobile.
• 21st century U.S. economic growth is directly linked to global trade.
