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 the 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.