US Transportation Secretary decrees end of inter-port rivalry

US TRANSPORTATION Secretary Ray LaHood says the days of competition between ports are over and they must work together, perhaps under a central authority.

"Maybe there ought to be a port czar who gets up every day and thinks about how the ports in California can collaborate together," Mr LaHood said during a recent trip to Oakland.

Oakland is the third biggest container port on the US west coast, but its traffic is down 13 per cent in the first half of the year, reported Oakland ABC TV news.

"We will be putting a good deal of emphasis on the Marine Highway, really using the Marine Highway to get trucks off the road, to clean up the air and to provide the kinds of transportation mode that is transformational," Mr LaHood said.

Source: News and Data Online