Making U.S. Ports Resilient as Part of Extended Intermodal Supply Chains. National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) Report 30.

摘要

The research reported in this document addresses the issue of how seaports respond to, and recover from, major disruptions to the movement of cargo through their facilities. As key nodes in the nations freight supply chains and the points at which most of the nations imports enter and exports leave the nations shores, seaports represent an essential resource in the cost-effective operation of the U.S. economy. Recent highly disruptive natural events such as Hurricanes Irene and Katrina, and Superstorm Sandy, have shown the costs to society of extreme coastal weather events. And due to their coastal locations, seaports are often among the most severely impacted of built infrastructures. The specific objective of this research project is to develop a set of high-level guidelines, informed by expert opinions and illustrated by example case studies. These guidelines are intended to help the seaport authorities and regional transportation agencies in which such ports are located minimize the extent and duration of lost cargo throughput resulting from such disruptions. Whether a natural or manmade event (such as a terrorist attack or labor strike), the goal is to bring the seaports freight movement system back to its prior operating level before costly and protracted delays can occurwhether stressed because of damage to cargo handling and warehousing facilities within the port; to the highway, rail, waterway, and pipeline routes leading into and out of the port; or because of the need to handle additional cargo volumes due to port disruptions or surges in cargo demands elsewhere. The term used in this report for such efforts is port resiliencethe ability of a seaport to withstand and bounce back quickly from a serious threat to its ability to process freight in an efficient and cost-effective manner.