The Challenges of Freight Distribution in the New York Metropolitan Area: The Role of the Port Authority Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue Dept. of Economics & Geography Hofstra University Hempstead, NY

Outline ■Contemporary Changes in Global and Regional Freight Distribution ■Freight Capital : New York / New Jersey ■The Role of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Share of Global GDP Growth,

U.S. Trade in Goods and Services - Balance of Payments, (billions of $US)

Containerized Cargo Flows along Major Trade Routes, (in millions of TEUs)

Increases in U.S. Commercial Freight Shipments and Related Growth Factors, 1993–2002

Changes in the Relative Importance of Logistical Functions in Distribution Systems

Container Traffic at Major East Coast Ports, (TEU)

Freight Capital: New York / New Jersey ■Freight capital Population of 21.2 million (7.5% of the national population). 2 nd largest passengers and air freight gateway in the world. 3 rd largest container port in the US. Largest public transit system in North America. ■The gateway function Large international terminals (port and airports). Serves the Eastern Seaboard. ■Local economy Significant deindustrialization. Service oriented. High level of consumption.

Challenges of Urban Freight Distribution ■Modal dependence Trucking (80%). ■Infrastructure Bottlenecks. Terminal access. ■Operational limitations Trucks (access and size limitations). Rail (freight vs. passengers). Maritime (depth). ■Intermodal integration Independent and fragmented transport networks.

Cargo Handled by the Port of New York, (metric tons)

Distribution of General Cargo Operations, Port of New York, 1959, 1987 and 2000

Container Traffic Handled by the Port of New York,

Truck Freight Corridors New Jersey Long Island New York Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Bronx Manhattan GWB TNB WSB TZB VZB TBB LT HT OCB GTB BYB Connecticut JFK LGA EWR About 70 million truck crossings per year Major Crossing ,000 of Trucks per Day (2000) QMT BBT 8.4

Rail Freight Corridors and Port Facilities New Jersey Long Island New York Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Bronx Manhattan Port Terminal Intermodal Terminal NJ Distribution Cluster

The Role of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ■Comprehensive Port Improvement Plan (2000) Two groups of options. ■1) Improving productivity / throughput of existing terminals Dredging. Ship / rail efficiency. ■2) New terminals New facilities. Land reclamation. ■Inland option “Freight villages”. Port regionalization.

Channel Depth at Selected North American Ports, 1998 (in feet)

45 Navigation Channel Control Depth (feet) Intermodal Terminal Container Port (proposed) Major Highway Proposed rail tunnel Ambrose Channel Main Ship Channel Raritan Bay Channel Arthur Kill Channel Kill Van Kull Channel Newark Bay Channel Upper Bay Channel Hudson River East River 45 The Narrows Brooklyn Staten Island New Jersey N 2 1 Howland Hook Red Hook South Brooklyn 3 1- Port Newark 2- Port Elizabeth 3- Global Marine Albers Equal-Area Conic Projection Intermodal Facilities and Navigation Channels of the Port of New York, 2003 Daily Truck Movements (one way), 2001

Albany Camden Wilmington New Haven Davisville New York Boston Baltimore Washington Potential Regional Barge Port LO/LO Barge Service Reading Syracuse Inland Rail Terminal Inland Rail Route Worcester / Framingham Hanover Hartford / Springfield Freight Cluster Philadelphia I95/New Jersey Port Inland Distribution Network

Expressrail Lifts,

Containers Handled by the Port of Albany – PIDN, April 2003, September 2004 (TEU)

Potential Modal Split Changes Due to the PIDN

Regionalization of Distribution ■From freight clusters to “freight villages” ■Freight cluster (A) Agglomeration of unrelated distribution activities. Cheap land and highway accessibility. Duplication and redundancy. ■“Freight village” (B) Some level of functional integration. Sharing of facilities and terminals. DC A B

Conclusion: Challenges in Freight Distribution ■Global changes New geography of production. Imbalanced trade flows. ■Local pains Congestion. Stressed capacities. ■Challenges for the “freight capital” and the Port Authority Throughput and distribution. Port regionalization. Modal shift: readjustment of freight flows. Efficiency in distribution derived from the inland (hinterland).