The Biden Administration is launching an Office of Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy as part of a series of new supply chain initiatives.
The agency will oversee the maintenance and improvement of the U.S. freight network.
Officials revealed the plans during the inaugural convening of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience.
The Multimodal Freight Office, funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will oversee the development of the National Multimodal Freight Network, review State Freight Plans, and provide technical assistance to state and local governments, among other duties.
According to a release issued by the Department of Transportation, the new office will also contribute to the Freight Logistics Optimization Works program. The FLOW program, launched in March 2022 and operated by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, is a federal initiative in which supply chain companies can enter into a data exchange to optimize network capacity by looking at information on specific nodes or regions in the supply chain. Companies must participate in data sharing to access FLOW. Over 50 companies have entered the partnership. Additionally, as the effort continues to mature, DOT will work with the Department of Agriculture to increase data transparency for containerized shipments of agricultural products, according to the White House announcement.
“Our new Multimodal Freight Office will lead coordination of our work to strengthen supply chains—including the FLOW data initiative helping companies and ports make better-informed decisions—so that they can move goods more efficiently and keep costs down for Americans,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated.
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