Statement of Commissioner Carl W. Bentzel on the Release of the Maritime Transportation Data Initiative Recommendations

I am pleased to release today my Maritime Transportation Data Initiative (MTDI) Recommendations and Views Report, which can be found on my webpage.

The report identifies a significant problem that industry brought to my attention. The problem of sharing information and speaking the same lexicon in the movement of freight has existed for a long time but became much more pronounced during the pandemic.

Cargo surges will happen again. It is my goal, and the intent of this report is, to have a better information sharing process in place that provides better advanced notification of incoming cargo and much better coordination between the different transportation modes and stakeholders. The number one takeaway from the 18 MTDI public meetings I held is that moving freight through our supply chain is a shared responsibility.

I am working to develop an approach within the Commission process to solicit public comment on the recommendations I am making in this report.

Carl W. Bentzel is a Commissioner with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission. The thoughts and comments expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent the position of the Commission.