b'22American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(DIGITALcontinued from page 18) water vessels to meet our economicryingtonnage.Chineseshipbuildershad the opposite effectand Ameri-Heimbeck says, I hate to be the guyand national security demands. benefited from $132 billion in directcan consumers are paying the price.saying, Lets have regulation. Theresubsidies, as well as indirect subsidiesMatsons news release about its is a need to improve cargo flows andh eRitagec Riticism andderegulationbetween2010andcapital outlay said the three vessels that involves the entire logistics com- The Heritage Foundation critique2018. Yet,ontheU.S.side,simplyrepresent an investment of approxi-munityinclusive of ocean carriers,of the Jones Act is reflected in the fol- subsidizing a fleet that operates undermately$1billionandwillmatch NVO,portsandterminals,trucking,lowing commentary:the stifling Jones Act will not revive athe size and speed of Matsons two rail,BCOs,customsbrokersandallTheJonesActisnotworkingdeclining U.S. merchant marine. existingAlohaClassships,Daniel the authorities regulating the transac- andhasneverdeliveredacompeti- The libertarian Cato Institute alsoK. Inouye, and Kamina Hila, which tion. And the best way to accomplishtive edge. The United States has lostsupports repeal of the Jones Act andwerealsobuiltbyPhillyShipyard thisisthroughdigitalizationoftheitsglobalcompetitivenessinship- Catos Jones Act Reform project is ledandenteredservicein2018and logistics community. building.China,ontheotherhand,by research fellow Colin Grabow.2019, respectively.AndthatswhereIthinkitshasconstructedapremiermerchantIn a 2023 interview withAJOT,Whatthenewsreleasefailedto really going to be interesting, maybefleet while investing in more than 100Grabow discussed the Cato Institutesmentionisthatthenearlyidentical thats the next step, better collabora- ports in 63 countries. Under the JoneseffortstorepealtheJonesAct:ItAloha Class ships built in 2018 and tion between the government, privateAct, the U.S. merchant marine cannotwould be a sea changeI think we2019cost$209millioneachatthe commerce,thestate,onlinesecuritycompete with large Chinese corpora- need dramatic change because thingstimecompared to more than $333 with Customs and the trade and digiti- tionssuchasCOSCO.Converselyare in a bad state. million for each of the new vessels.zation. All of those things are going toChinas civ-mil fusion harmonizesBut even $209 million was vastly come together and self-reinforce. Andcivilian shipping activities with mili- h ighu.s. s hipbuildingc osts more than the prevailing world price. thiscouldbesomethingthatweretaryrequirements.TheChineseareIn November, Melissa Newsham,AccordingtotheCongressional discussing more and more in the nextalsonotburdenedwithcostlyU.S.a research associate at the GrassrootResearchService(CRS),U.S.-built few years to come. environmental,labor,andspecialInstitute of Hawaii wrote a critique ofships often come with a price tag at AboutTradeTech:Since1997,interestregulations.TheJonesActthe Jones Act focusing on high U.S.leastfourtimeshigherthanthose TradeTech,Inc.,agloballogisticsand ad valorem taxes on U.S.-flaggedshipbuilding costs: built abroad.platform,hasprovidedworld-classvessels for overseas ship maintenanceShippinggiantMatson,based solutionsthatconnectshippers,havepreventedtheU.S.shippinginHawaii,recentlyannounceditisl ifew ithout thej onesa ctimporters,CustomsHouseBrokers,industry from competing globally andbuying three new containerships fromWhile since the Jones Acts incep-NVOCCs, carriers, truckers, and ware- hastened its decline. The U.S. JonesthePhillyShipyardinPennsylvaniation the U.S. blue water merchant fleet houses, enabling full visibility acrossAct-compliant fleet had 257 ships infor $1 billionhundreds of millionshas apart from wartime surges (World the supply chain. With its multi-ten- 1980and only 93 ships today. of dollars higher than global prices. War 1 &2) rarely been a leading fea-ant, cloud-based platform, Trade TechYet, the Jones Act makes it moreBut the company likely isnt con- ture in the U.S. economy. Even now, enhances connectivity, reduces opera- expensivetomaintainthisfleetbycernedmuchabouttheexcessivewith all the containership calls at U.S. tional costs, and minimizes errors forrequiringthattheseshipsbeU.S.- price because its customersmainlyports,onlyaminimalfewareU.S. its clients globallywithout the needbuilt, even while the withering fleetin Alaska, Hawaii and Guamulti- flagged vessels. On the other hand, the for software downloads.sizehasreducedU.S.capacity.Themately will be the ones to foot the bill,grey water or inland and coastal fleet absurd consequence is that ships builtthanks to Americas protectionist mari- have grown significantly. This includes in the U.S. now require maintenancetime law known as the Jones Act, so itseverything from Great Lakes shipping (REPEALcontinued from page 20) in Chinese shipyards. This absurdityprofits likely will remain strong. to operations in the Gulf of Mexico and and-ownedvesselsundergirdingiscompoundedbythefactthattheThe104-year-oldlawquashesin the future offshore wind operations. ournationseconomyandserving93remainingandagingU.S.shipsmeaningfulcompetition,bothfor- This begs the question of whether the as a bulwark against Chinas expan- wouldbeoflimitedmilitaryuseineign and domestic, by requiring thatU.S. blue water fleet would have been sionism.Itsupports650,000 Ameri- wartime. Creating a wall of protectionall goods shipped between U.S. portsable to grow like other nations with-canjobs,helpssecureourdomesticaroundtheU.S.merchantnavyhasbe on ships that are U.S. built, U.S.out significant subsidy programs? And transportationfromsupplychainnotworked,andthemerchantfleetflagged and mostly American ownedwouldtheinlandandcoastalfleets disruptionsandbuffersagainstanti- is in obvious decline as a result. Thisand crewed. havebeenabletooperateandgrow competitivemaneuversfromChina.decline is in stark contrast to ChinasThe law was intended to strengthenwithouttheJonesAct?In2025we U.S. shipyards are booked and busyfleet of 8,007 ships, the second larg- Americasmaritimeindustryinthemightfindoutwhatlifewithoutthe buildingoceangoingandbrownestfleetintheworldbycargo-car- nameofnationalsecurity,butithasJones Act could be.The NSAOur Houston to Port Everglades service Advantage continuing to San Juan, Puerto Rico gives customers three unique components not offered by any other carrier in the market.The only Houston, TX to San Juan, PR service ideal for cargo originating in Texas and west of the Mississippi and West CoastThe only domestic Marine Highway service between Houston, TX and Port Everglades, FLThe only direct service out of South Florida servicing Puerto Rico, providing the fastest direct transit time to San Juanall this withEXCELLENT PERSONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE(855) 332-6200natship.us'