On August 27-28, AAPA, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the New York Shipping Association (NYSA) partnered to host an Influencers Roundtable and Media Tour of marine terminals, on-dock rail facilities, operations control centers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations. Taking advantage of a quiet news cycle in Washington, D.C., AAPA worked with the Port Authority and the NYSA to bring together leaders on transportation, infrastructure and trade to discuss policy issues of importance to the entire U.S. port industry and to educate Washington- and New York area-based reporters about the role that ports play in the U.S. economy and the challenges they face.

Much of the influencers discussion on August 27 at APM Terminals in Elizabeth, NJ, centered on financing needed improvements in the land- and water-side connections to ports – the "white space" in a port that exists between terminal operations, as described by Port Authority Port Commerce Director R. Admiral Rick Larrabee. During the facilitated roundtable with terminal operators, think tank leaders, rail executives, federal agency officials and others, AAPA President and CEO Kurt Nagle emphasized the need for passage of a Water Resources Development Act this year, indicating that WRDA enactment is a top policy priority for the U.S. port industry.

Attendees at the Influencers Roundtable hosted by AAPA, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and the New York Shipping Association.
Photo/AAPA

The media tour on August 28 included eight reporters from local and national media outlets, including Capitol Hill news publications such as CQ/Roll Call, Bloomberg BNA and The Hill. The tour gave reporters a first-hand look at operations at Port Newark Container Terminal, the local CBP Centralized Examination Station, an on-dock ExpressRail facility and the conversion to a semi-automated operation at Global Container Terminal.