The U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) released a report this week on West Coast Ports and efforts to improve the flow of transportation.

The report titled, West Coast Ports: Better Supply Chain Information Could Improve DOT's Freight Efforts was requested by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) after the 2014-15 West Coast port disruptions.

Fischer asked GAO to report on:

• How major U.S. West Coast ports have responded to recent changes in global shipping
• How selected shippers have been impacted by and responded to a recent port disruption
• How the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) efforts support port cargo movement and whether they can be improved.

The report seems to look at the broader issue of port congestion and supply chains and not just the disruptions caused by the 2014-2015 labor negotiations.

The full report can be viewed here.

GAO recommends that to inform DOT’s development of its national freight strategy and associated freight efforts, such as states’ development of freight plans, newly established freight funding programs and advancing DOT’s efforts to implement national freight policies, that in the development of the freight data strategy the Secretary of Transportation include a specific plan to identify:

• Appropriate freight data sources, information, and analytic tools for transportation modes involved in the freight network and supply chains
• Data gaps that could help both the agency and states and local governments in the development of their freight plans, and an approach for addressing obstacles to developing high-quality, reliable supply chain information
• Current and planned efforts that can provide insights into supply chains and their impacts on freight networks
• How DOT plans to use the supply chain information and analytical tools to inform freight planning and programming.

The American Soybean Association(ASA) supports efforts to avert or minimize future disruptions at West Coast ports and other key export points, and is actively engaged in promoting increased federal investment in transportation infrastructure to maintain and improve the competitiveness of U.S. soybean exports.