AAPA warns of $4trn cost of failure to invest in US ports

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Failure to properly invest in its ports could wipe $4trn from US GDP over the next decade. This was the stance taken by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), testifying before a senate sub-committee. In total, AAPA called for $66bn for waterside and landside projects, with $28.9bn marked for road and rail connectivity. The money, it said, could be generated by collecting 100% of the tax paid by shippers to US ports, without the need to burden industry or the taxpayer. AAPA chief executive Kurt Nagle also voiced the association’s concerns over the US-China trade war, noting his members were on the “front lines” of the uncertainties caused by the trade dispute.