The Department of Transportation is accepting comments through Oct. 18 on current and future challenges to supply chain resilience in the freight and logistics sector.
In a broad executive order issued in February on the need for resilient, diverse, and secure supply chains, President Biden directed the DOT to submit within a year a report on supply chains for the transportation industrial base. The DOT intends fulfill this requirement by producing a report on the nation’s freight and logistics sector that is focused on how the freight system supports supply chains and any challenges and resilience issues within that system.
The DOT is already engaging with stakeholders and public agency partners through the president’s Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, which is addressing near-term challenges with a focus on alleviating bottlenecks and supply constraints in the transportation sector, particularly for ports, rail, and trucking. The DOT’s forthcoming report will build on these efforts and focus on challenges and solutions over the medium and longer terms while also addressing the goals of safety, economic strength, climate resilience, equity, and transformation.
In preparation for that report, the DOT is soliciting information from the public on a wide range of related issues, including the following.
- major infrastructure or operational bottlenecks and chokepoints and how to alleviate them
- shortages and limitations of essential cargo handling equipment (e.g., chassis and shipping containers)
- warehouse capacity and availability
- major risks to resilience within the freight and logistics sector, including defense, intelligence, cyber, homeland security, health, climate, environmental, natural, market, economic, geopolitical, human rights, or labor management risks
- technology issues (e.g., cybersecurity risks) that affect the safe, efficient, and reliable movement of goods
- workforce or skill set opportunities and needs
- barriers (including statutory, regulatory, technological, institutional, labor and workforce, management, existing business models/practices issues) that inhibit supply chain performance
- critical transportation assets and their expected future availability
- technological practices being implemented at various levels across the supply chain sector
- policy recommendations or executive, legislative, or regulatory changes the federal government should consider to ensure a resilient supply chain
Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg is offering clients the opportunity to participate in a campaign seeking to encourage legislative and regulatory actions on supply chain issues. For more information, please contact Ned Steiner at (202) 730-4970 or via email.
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