November 20, 2025 • 33 mins
Marine cargo ports serve as the conduits connecting global and regional economies, and their ability to run efficiently can be felt near and far. In this Talking Transports podcast, American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) Vice President of Government Relations John Bressler, joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation and logistics analyst, to unpack the policies shaping US seaports and what his trade organization is doing to push for more federal infrastructure funding. Bressler also discusses rail consolidation, shipbuilding incentives, tariffs and automation, stressing balance between efficiency, labor and security. With ports investing in decarbonization, dredging and digitalization, he says smarter infrastructure and collaboration will keep America’s maritime network competitive and resilient.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hi everyone, this is Lee class Gan when We're Talking Transports.
Welcome to Bloomberg Intelligence Talking Transports podcast. I'm your host,
Lee Clascowse, senior freight, transportation and logistics analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Bloomberg's in house research arm of almost five hundred analysts
and strategists are around the globe. Quick public service announcement
before we dive in. Your support is instrumental to keep
(00:27):
bringing great guests and conversations to you, our listeners, and
we need your support. So please, if you enjoy this podcast,
share it and like it and leave a comment. Also,
if you've got ideas, feedback, or just want to talk transports,
I'm always happy to connect. You can find me on
the Bloomberg terminal, on LinkedIn or on x at Logistics.
Late Well, I'm very excited to have with us today.
(00:48):
John Brustler. He's Vice president of Government Relations at the
American Association of Port Authorities or AAPA. John joined AAPA
after serving as head of Government Relations at the National
Air Traffic Controllers, where he led the union's government relations
and political department. In total, John has over twenty years
of professional experience, including ten years on Capitol Hill, serving
(01:12):
as former House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
and Aviation Chair. Rep. Frank Lowe Biondo's legislative director. He
also held senior level staff roles on the House Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure and House Aviation Subcommittee, leading the
Airport and Labor portfolio during FAA reauthorizations. He has a
(01:38):
BA from Westminster College in New Wilmlington, Pennsylvania, and political
science and a master's of Public Policy and Management from
the University of Pittsburgh. Thanks so much for joining us today, John.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Thank you for having me. I'm very excited to talk
about America's seaports today.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Okay, so you know the name of the organization with
is American Association of Port Authorities. I think some of
us know what a port authority is. I sometimes go
into to one through a bus or an airport. Could
you just give really basic what the heck is a
port authority and why do they exist?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yeah? Absolutely. The main priority of seaports is to move
cargo in and out for the supply chain. So a
lot of our seaport members are landlord ports. They lease
the land to terminal operators and they work hand in
hand with terminal operators to make sure ocean carrying vessels
are brought in, imported in, and exported out with the
(02:36):
necessary supplies for our country. We work very collaboratively with
terminal operators, with shippers, with labor, with all of the
parties to make sure that the supply chain runs smoothly.
Some of our ports are also operating ports. They actually
serve to operate similar to the way a terminal operator does.
So we represent over eighty five US public port authorities
(02:59):
and other members, international members and supply chain.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Partners and just generally speaking, port authorities are quasi government entities. Correct.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yes, port authorities are quasi government entities either a close
proximity with a state, local, or other entity. And each
one is unique. Each one has a unique governing body.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Okay, so can you just talk about like who your
members are? Sure?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
So we have as I mentioned, we have eighty five
US public port authorities representing from the East coast to
the west coast, north south. Some are smaller, some are medium,
some are large. We represent mostly coastal seaports. We advocate
only on behalf of US public port authorities on Capitol Hill.
That's where we do all our government relations work. I'm
(03:48):
the leader of that team. We also do have Canadian
and Mexican and Caribbean members. They provide we provide resources
for them, information sharing, discounts for conferences, those sorts of things.
And we also have more ancillary members, very important supply
chain partners and industry service providers like Great Lakes, Stretch
(04:11):
and Dock for example, MSc, CMA, GM, Amazon.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
And then you know, on on Capitol Hill, obviously you
guys do lobbying. Can you talk about, you know, some
of the things that you are working on Capital maybe
not doing so much work right now given the shutdown
I had. I was fortunate or unfortunate to be trying
to get home to Newark last night and had a
(04:36):
four hour delay because of the shutdown. So you could
you talk about, you know, what your work is on
Capitol Hill and what kind of priorities the AAPA has
right now.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Yes, absolutely, despite the government shutdown. From the staff level here,
our work has continued aggressively. We just finished up a
very successful conference in Quebec City, Canada, talking about a
wide range of international issues. On Capitol Hill, we lobby
for Port Infrastructure Development Program dollars I raised that at
(05:10):
the top. Because the reauthorization of the Highway Bill, the
Surface Transportation Bill is underway in Congress. We've been having
a lot of meetings with House and Senate members and
Administration of vituals about the importance of the PIDP program
for rebuilding wharves, docks, terminals, railyards, code stores, those sorts
(05:34):
of things. We were pleased that the administration did suggest
five hundred and fifty million dollars for the Infrastructure Development
Program in their budget for FY twenty twenty six. However,
given the current control of government being Republican, we do think,
based on our sources, that a huge mammoth size infrastructure
(05:56):
bill like to byparison Infrastructure of Law, which provided two
point two five billion for ports or five years, is
going to be challenging. But we're doing our advocacy. Nevertheless,
on the surface Transportation bill. Our sources have said that
right now there isn't an appetite for a large term
infrastructure bill, But you don't know what President Trump is
(06:17):
going to do on this topic if he wants to
push forward with another infrastructure bill. Ports are at the table.
We have a lot of other issues, for example, the
water resource development Act is also being considered for reauthorization
in twenty twenty six. In the last SWORDA of twenty
twenty four, ports were very successful whenever we fought for
(06:38):
language to increase the federal cost share for dredging projects,
federal dredging projects down to fifty five feet. That allowed
many of our ports to pursue dredging projects with a
federal cost share that's greater. That of course, gives those
ports the ability to move in larger vest goals, create
(07:00):
greater efficiencies, more goods coming in and coming out. We
also work on security related topics. We've done a lot
of work on protecting the clean Ports grants which are
currently being obligated, and a number of other topics.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Yeah, So, at the time of recording this, the Trump
administration and the Chinese government, I think they've come to
some terms with, you know, cooling down tariffs and also
with regards to delaying the port fees that they're going
to put on each other. The Trump administration has been
pretty vocal about increasing shipbuilding capacity. Is that a good
(07:41):
thing for your members? Is that something that has a benefit,
Because if they're going to increase shipbuilding, I'm assuming they
have to increase the infrastructure related to shipbuilding, which touches ports.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
So can you talk about that. Yeah, thanks, that's a
great question. Our ports do coort shipbuilding at many of
their ports. They have the land and the resources to
do that. We're remaining at the table. However, with that
being said, we do have major concerns about tariffs. We
have concerns about shipbuilding fees. Inherently, we do oppose tariffs.
(08:18):
We believe that any tariffs are going to impact the
bottom line at ports. They will ultimately impact American consumers
and it will impact the costs that Americans are paying
for a wide range of consumer goods. Also, on shipbuilding fees,
we completely support the administration's push back on Chinese dominance.
(08:39):
We understand the reason for pursuing a fee on Chinese
linked ships. However, we don't think that American terminals and
businesses should be penalized. APA has been at the forefront
of American manufacturing. We think before tariffs are proposed, we
need to have the American manufacturing for this type of revitalization.
(09:02):
Right now, no American manufacturer makes shift to short cranes.
These are the big cranes that pick up the containers
and put them onto the dock. They're controlled largely and
manufactured by the Chinese, with some others in Korea and Japan.
We've proposed legislation. Congressman Eizel, who is the chair of
the Coaxcarter Maritime Infrastructure Subcommittee, has introduced this bill to
(09:25):
provide up to a sixty percent tax credit for bringing
back that manufacturer of shipped to short cranes and mobile
harbor cranes. We think that that type of initiative we
to bring back American manufacturing by taking action before we
place unfair penalties and fees on American businesses.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And you know, you mentioned the fact that you know,
you guys are for being bringing back ship building, and
some of the ports that you represent seem open to
I guess hosting those types of companies. I'm assuming those
are mostly smaller ports on the East Coast that would
I guess that expressed an interest. I don't know if
you can talk about that.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Yeah, we've heard at a high level from ports across
the country. Actually, we've heard from some on the East
coasts who are interested in staying engaged and involved and
having visits from potential shipbuilding manufacturers, but also the golf
and the West Coast. We've been discussing this topic internally,
and we have our legislative summit in DC coming up
(10:24):
mark to fourth through six, and we are planning to
have shipbuilding as one of the topics. We've continued to
maintain a close relationship with the White House and the
National Security Council and also the OMB, and we're planning
to invite them to talk to our members about what's
out there. I note that there was twenty five billion
(10:46):
in the Big Beautiful built for coast Guard and for
shipbuilding manufacturing. We want to make sure that we're at
the table and ports are being considered poor infrastructure, and
does weave into there. We think that they need to
go hand in hand as this rebuilding revitalization of American
maritime happens.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Yeah, it's certainly a capital intensive endeavor. It will be
interesting to see, uh, you know, I if that takes
off like I guess the administration hopes it does. Definitely
can see the benefit of building more ships here in
the US. Are there any other legislative issues or concerns
that is really a focus to a PA.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Yeah, we so, as I mentioned the Highway Bill, of course,
and the Water Resource Development Act are critical.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
So can I ask, can I ask a dumb question
about the Highway bill because it has highway in it?
And I guess people don't think about ports when so
port funding is included in the highway bill.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Port funding was included in the last highway bill. Yes,
it was included as a as an appropriation in that
highway bill. That Bypars an infrastructure law right provided to
the two point two five billion for ports. That is
the current legislative vehicle for additional appropriations for ports. That's
(12:09):
a very important point because ports are funded through the
annual appropriations process. They're funded at a very low level,
not enough to sustain the needs of port infrastructure. So
there for example, for FY twenty twenty six, there's four
hundred and fifty million dollars in the by Parson Infrastructure
(12:30):
Law for for the Port Infrastructure Development Program and that
program has has been oversubscribed, but by four to one,
our request for the Port Infrastructure Development Program is ten
point nine billion over five years.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Yeah, that's that's a bit more than four hundred and
fifty million dollars a year. And when you say oversubscribed,
so you're saying that your members there, they've been requesting
I guess four times, So I guess that's one point
eight billion dollars that's for funding.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Okay, that's right. And for every dollar, according to the
Maritime Administration the Department of Transportation, for every dollar invested
in maritime, that stimulates two to three dollars of economic growth,
which is tremendous. So we always emphasize that when we're
talking to lawmakers that investing in infrastructure through our courts,
(13:26):
the return on investment is just tremendous.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Right. I guess let's talk about that return. So where's
that return coming from. Is it just more imports coming
into the US. Is it doing it more efficiently? Is it?
Is it the local economies or is it kind of
all the above.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
It's from state or local or private partners. Reports want
to be the economic engine. They want to collaborate with
federal partners. They also want the state, local, and private
operators to become involved. As these initiatives move forward, rates
as an economic engine. So as that economic engine roars,
(14:04):
whether it's from a new manufacturing facility or a new terminal,
or if there's a channel widening, for example, in Houston
there's a current, there's a channel being widened, and that's
going to allow more jobs, more economic growth, more ships
coming out, and that makes it more attractive to prevent
(14:25):
to potential customers. Or if you look at what's happening
in New Orleans with a new terminal being built that
will generate it served as an economic engine for all
of these good paying maritime jobs and stimulate the economy.
So we we firmly believe that each dollar invested, it's
a very well, well well placed use of your finances
(14:48):
and resources from the federal government.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And so you mentioned like two places where there's growth
going on, can you talk about growth more broadly? And
when I say that, like are the West those US
ports growing more than the East Coast ports? Orre's the
Gulf ports? Like where where's the where's the growth coming from?
Within your world?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Yeah, very important topic right now. There have been ebbs
and flows for the last about year and a half.
Some of that is based on on tariffs and ship
building fees and some turbulence at the in the political side,
but it's more focused on the regional level as different
types of infrastructure projects and cargo loads are managed. So
(15:34):
for for example, if a if a great lakes port
gets US gets a contract for a massive amount of
grain or steel, there's going to be a surge in
economic activity that's going to blow away the national GDP.
Or if they might have a little bit of a
bit of a downturn, they might go a little beneath
on the West coast. There's been a lot of front
(15:55):
loading by retailers to try to avoid some of the
costs of tariffs, and that has increased volumes, but then
it will go up and down. That type of instability
isn't good for any of the businesses. They need to
be able to plan long term. As also an additional
reason why the current government shut down, right, I think
(16:18):
what's thirty days now, almost the longest in government history.
That's certainly not helping. Whether we're talking about the trade
volumes and flows or we're talking about the actual appropriations
legislation which is long overdue. These types of things are
not good for the maritime industry and sustaining and improving
(16:40):
and increasing the long term growth.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
And how do your members grow, So you know, I'm
assuming it's not so much winning share from other modes.
I'm assuming it's attracting new imports and exports. Is that
how your outside of obviously increasing the capacity through these
(17:05):
projects that you talked about, what are your members doing
to kind of to grow their own businesses.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, the capacity side is of course very important. They're
investing in workforce training. They continue to work closely with
their customers. I talked about some of the projects that
they're pursuing, whether it's a water infrastructure project, a raal yard,
better truck connectivity, better equipment. They're constantly fighting for more business.
(17:36):
And while the ports do collaborate across the whole, so
we bring them together from an association perspective, they do
share best practices and collaborate, especially on a regional level.
We have regional port associations set up across the country
and they all have their own uniques and priorities. But
on a competitive level, as you get to understand the
(17:58):
local port dynamics, they do compete fiercely for critical government
business and oftentimes their boards, their commissioning bodies, they also
have a role in that in identifying what can take
them to the next level, and they some of them
visit capital, they talk to legislators. They're always looking for
(18:18):
additional ways to maneuver to get to that next step.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
And are are there some ports that you mentioned that
they do take share from each other and they compete
against each other. So are there some ports that are
growing faster than others if you can talk about that.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Yeah, yeah, some ports aren't growing faster than others. I'd
say it's scattered across the board. We've heard from some
ports who are having some challenges right now. I got
a call from a port director two weeks ago and
they said they were having some layoffs and they in
a very unfortunate circumstance because some of their imports that
were being we're strong previously to tariffs. They've had to
(18:58):
stop those because the manufacturing company has had to raise
prices to the point where the company went out of business.
Whereas other other other ports, for example, I know of
a few in the South, but also scattered across the
company that aren't as focused on container trade, so the
tariffs aren't hitting them as much. Who have more of
(19:19):
an energy profile for example, they seem to be a
little less impacted from the current the current tax and
tariff structure.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Right And you know, obviously you know a way to
get new business is to be more efficient. Uh, you know,
people think of automation. How are your ports addressing, you know,
embracing automation, because I'm assuming you know, they must walk
a fine line between you know, not annoying their workforce
(19:52):
and trying to move forward uh with technology.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
So internationally, of course, if you look at some of
the bigger ports like Shanghai or Rotterdam, they've really moved
forward aggressively with AI and automation. They've proven to be
very successful using automation for cranings, for example. We've seen
that at some of our ports, it's taking place in
(20:16):
targeted circumstances. In all of the successful examples that I've
seen in the US, there have been very close cordial
relationships between the terminal operators and the labor unions on
the contracts to make sure that the working women and
men are being protected and there are no job losses.
That there's a lot of focus on safety being the
(20:38):
first priority. The knee jerk reaction in the past to
automation has been perhaps a concern about jobs or safety.
So I think there's that recognition that before anything moves
forward on automation, and these regional examples the safety and efficiency,
but also the protection of jobs does need to occur.
That On the AI side, been been examples of security
(21:02):
being used, for example by by drones, and there's also
been a focus on cyber security. For example, the Coastguard
has has cyber threat hunt teams and if the port
requests an inspection of something like a like a crane,
that cyber threat hunt team will actually come to the
port and do a thorough investigation and analysis of whether
(21:26):
that specific type of infrastructure is safe or not. So
a lot of movie parts here. Another issue that we
want to be involved in and at the forefront on
as it continues to evolve in the coming days.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
So you just mentioned something, you know when it comes
to enforcement, and it just like, you know, put something
to mind. You know, given the Trump administration is focus on,
you know, reducing fentanoyl imports into the US or were
related chemicals into the US, has the enforcement from customs
been a lot more I guess strict over the last
(22:02):
I don't know how many months, eleven months, twelve months
since the Trump administration has been around compared to the
last four years.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Yeah, great, great question. I haven't heard of any specific
challenges on that front. I do know that right now
CBP are under some pressure because they're dm D central workers,
and I don't believe they're actually getting paid now that
I think they missed their first paycheck. So that's adding
an additional unnecessary layer. As far as the specific question
(22:34):
you ask, I'm not aware of any any major impacts there, so.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Just and then just going back to the automation, So,
what are the types of automation do you think that
are acceptable to labor that will help the ports out,
you know, because you know we've seen you know, you
talked about like the automation of some of some equipment,
but that could be still operated by somebody, you know,
(22:59):
in side somewhere, which obviously is a if you're not
working out the elements, and probably a little safer because
you're not around multi ton containers that could fall and
hurt somebody. So can you talk about like the what
kind of automation do you think that is palatable for
labor versus you know, things that maybe uh, they're they're
(23:21):
they're more resistant to.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Yeah, I can't speak exactly to what would be palatable
to labor, but I can talk a little bit about
what we've seen and what may be something for the
US maritime to consider. I would also highlight Deloitte just
put out a really interesting piece about AI and automation
(23:43):
and how this is something that needs to be considered
as Congress and the government pushes to make American maritime
great again. So if you look at some of the
successful examples in Rotterdam, for example, they're using a lot
of AI and automation for the contain are stacking. So
for example, a truck that's coming in to pick up
(24:05):
a container, it will know exactly where it is, where
it is, and that container will be placed in a
very very strategically so it can pick it up and
remove it without having any weight time. So that's the
type of automation that I think is being considered also
at US ports. But also the you know, weaving into
this is the whole concept of digitization, which is also
(24:28):
an AI component to some extent. You not that long
ago carriers and CBP were using physical bills of laid
and to identify their ship, what it carried, their their number,
the cargo, et cetera. But that, for example, is being
now digitized, where those ocean carriers have have digitization back
(24:50):
and forth between the CVP government and the terminal operator.
That does increase the efficiencies for everyone, and I imagine
that's something that the workforce, for example, could probably benefit from.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Gotcha, you know, I guess it. When it comes to
ports and technology, obviously those are the ports of assuming
are using technology and to reduce their emissions. Can you
can you talk about, you know, what your members kind
of goals are towards admission. You know, you have a
(25:23):
lot of companies that are trying to get to zero
by a certain time. Does the port world have like
a broad goal that they're all trying to get to
and if you can, if you can talk to that,
that would be I think pretty interesting.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely so ports do have very ambitious decarbonization goals.
I wouldn't characterize it as a as a top down
type of federal government regulation, but ports do work with
state local government governments and businesses to set goals for
themselves and they have made a lot of progress. So,
(25:56):
for example, the ports of LA and Long Beach their
world renowned for what they've done to reduce carbon emissions.
But it's not just a California type of initiative. If
you look at the ports in the Gulf. For example,
in the South like Texas, Florida, Georgia, they are adopted
adopting electric equipment like tugboats, cranes, and Texas Ports specifically
(26:23):
see hydrogen as a specific area of growth for zero
missions fuels. We do take in all above strategy as
the association perspective. There are some challenges with moving away
from traditional bunker. A lot of it has to do
with the cost and the cost of the infrastructure to
(26:44):
set up. Sometimes that can be a timely and more expensive.
There also can be political challenges. Sometimes at local levels
there's a bit of hesitation to move to something different,
So that does also play into the entire discussion.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
And has anything changed under the new administration? Obviously they
are not as focused on emissions as prior administration. So
have your ports done anything differently or are they just
operating as they did over the last couple of years
In terms of those goals.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
The overarching administration position, I think that most ports are
very in tune with what their government is desiring. So
if there's more grants available for specific areas of port development,
they may try to follow those types of programs with
that being said, we are seeing a lot of the
(27:44):
ports stick with their decarb goals because it's very important
to them, sometimes at a regional level, but mainly because
they think it's the right path forward. The interesting thing
about ports, from my perspective having been here a little
over two years, is that usually the politics is left
out of it as much as possible, out of their
(28:04):
decision making, and it's not based on it a Republican
or democratic platform. They're going to based on what the
policy and the program is and what's best for their
operating business and how to maintain competitive and keep attracting,
attract new customers and maintaining the current ones.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Is there anything else on your radar that your members
are kind of concerned with that it might, you know,
could be either an opportunity or a challenge for them
that maybe we haven't discussed.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
We are tracking the proposed merger between Union Pacific and
Norfolk Southern. Some of our members have asked questions about it.
We do understand that that merger is in the process,
as in they're working towards their filing their application to
the Surface Transportation Board, which would be the operating governing
(28:52):
body in this case. Understand they're going to submit that
file to for the merger application by January twenty nine,
twenty six, So after that occurs, we anticipate there will
be congressional hearings. There's a lot of lobbying already happening
on the up Norfolk Southern merger. We're hearing from railroads,
but also we're hearing from chemical groups. We're hearing from
(29:14):
any operator of or excuse me, any user of railroads.
We think that's going to be a big topic for discussion.
We want to make sure reports are well represented. We
need to do more work directly with our courts understand
what maybe be good and potentially bad on that merger.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
So when you say you're hearing from your reports, are
most of your members concerned about it? And what are
what are what are the concerns?
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I wouldn't say they're concerned. They hear about it from
one of their customers or from a board member, and
they want to know more about it. Right now, we're
more of the fact finding stage, understanding what the pros
and cons could be. But I haven't heard any imports
at this point, take any firm position one where or other,
and weren't in the research back from the stage at
(30:04):
this point.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Got you and then you know, I guess when we
did the intro you kind of been involved in transports
for some time on the hill. How did you get
into transports? Was it something like you're like, oh, I've
always been interested in that, or it's kind of like
a lot of us that are involved in transportation, you
kind of step in it if you will.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Well, my first job on Capitol Hill was for a
former member of Congress named Bud Schuster, who was the
chair at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Community. He had
family that belonged to the same church as mine in
Central Pennsylvania, and that started off my career in the
transportation world. I worked for Congressman Low Biondo who was
(30:48):
chair of the Maritime sub Community and aviation. That's where
I got my most interest in maritime. So after working
in aviation and at NATKA the Airtraft Controllers, which was
a great experience, I talked to a PA and I've
been here now for two years. I'm really enjoying it.
Excellent organization.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
So, you know, I would like to ask my guests
this last question about books. You know, is there a
book that you've read, whether it's about transportation leadership, or
even the world of politics that you know you touch
as a trade organization that's kind of close to your heart.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Yeah, good question. I am an avid reader. I read
every night. The book that I think of as far
as leadership that's most recent in my memory is actually
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight in the legendary basketball coach,
Because if you look at the way that he started
his business to build Nike from the ground up with
nothing in his basement and going from region to regions
(31:51):
selling stores out of his shoes, his tenacity and persistence
and love for what he did, it was really an
amazing example of how leadership can be done and done successfully.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Well, maybe we should take those principles to heart and
we can. We can start a shipbuilding company here in
the US, go to door to door selling ships. All right, John,
I really want to thank you for your time and
insights today. I really appreciate it, and you know, I
enjoyed learning a little bit more about your organization and
about what you know ports are facing.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Thank you for having me look forward to the continued conversation.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Great, and I want to thank you for your time
for tuning in. If you like the episode, please subscribe
and leave a review. We've lined up a number of
great guests for the podcast, so please check back to
hear conversations with C suite executives, shippers, regulators, and decision
makers within the freight markets. Also, if you want to
learn more about the freight transportation markets, check out our
(32:48):
work on the Bloomberg Terminal at BIG and on social media.
This is Lee Glasgow signing off and thanks for talking
transports with me. Talk to you soon. Bye.
Hi everyone, this is Lee class Gan when We're Talking Transports.
Welcome to Bloomberg Intelligence Talking Transports podcast. I'm your host,
Lee Clascowse, senior freight, transportation and logistics analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Bloomberg's in house research arm of almost five hundred analysts
and strategists are around the globe. Quick public service announcement
before we dive in. Your support is instrumental to keep
(00:27):
bringing great guests and conversations to you, our listeners, and
we need your support. So please, if you enjoy this podcast,
share it and like it and leave a comment. Also,
if you've got ideas, feedback, or just want to talk transports,
I'm always happy to connect. You can find me on
the Bloomberg terminal, on LinkedIn or on x at Logistics.
Late Well, I'm very excited to have with us today.
(00:48):
John Brustler. He's Vice president of Government Relations at the
American Association of Port Authorities or AAPA. John joined AAPA
after serving as head of Government Relations at the National
Air Traffic Controllers, where he led the union's government relations
and political department. In total, John has over twenty years
of professional experience, including ten years on Capitol Hill, serving
(01:12):
as former House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
and Aviation Chair. Rep. Frank Lowe Biondo's legislative director. He
also held senior level staff roles on the House Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure and House Aviation Subcommittee, leading the
Airport and Labor portfolio during FAA reauthorizations. He has a
(01:38):
BA from Westminster College in New Wilmlington, Pennsylvania, and political
science and a master's of Public Policy and Management from
the University of Pittsburgh. Thanks so much for joining us today, John.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Thank you for having me. I'm very excited to talk
about America's seaports today.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Okay, so you know the name of the organization with
is American Association of Port Authorities. I think some of
us know what a port authority is. I sometimes go
into to one through a bus or an airport. Could
you just give really basic what the heck is a
port authority and why do they exist?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yeah? Absolutely. The main priority of seaports is to move
cargo in and out for the supply chain. So a
lot of our seaport members are landlord ports. They lease
the land to terminal operators and they work hand in
hand with terminal operators to make sure ocean carrying vessels
are brought in, imported in, and exported out with the
(02:36):
necessary supplies for our country. We work very collaboratively with
terminal operators, with shippers, with labor, with all of the
parties to make sure that the supply chain runs smoothly.
Some of our ports are also operating ports. They actually
serve to operate similar to the way a terminal operator does.
So we represent over eighty five US public port authorities
(02:59):
and other members, international members and supply chain.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Partners and just generally speaking, port authorities are quasi government entities. Correct.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yes, port authorities are quasi government entities either a close
proximity with a state, local, or other entity. And each
one is unique. Each one has a unique governing body.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Okay, so can you just talk about like who your
members are? Sure?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
So we have as I mentioned, we have eighty five
US public port authorities representing from the East coast to
the west coast, north south. Some are smaller, some are medium,
some are large. We represent mostly coastal seaports. We advocate
only on behalf of US public port authorities on Capitol Hill.
That's where we do all our government relations work. I'm
(03:48):
the leader of that team. We also do have Canadian
and Mexican and Caribbean members. They provide we provide resources
for them, information sharing, discounts for conferences, those sorts of things.
And we also have more ancillary members, very important supply
chain partners and industry service providers like Great Lakes, Stretch
(04:11):
and Dock for example, MSc, CMA, GM, Amazon.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
And then you know, on on Capitol Hill, obviously you
guys do lobbying. Can you talk about, you know, some
of the things that you are working on Capital maybe
not doing so much work right now given the shutdown
I had. I was fortunate or unfortunate to be trying
to get home to Newark last night and had a
(04:36):
four hour delay because of the shutdown. So you could
you talk about, you know, what your work is on
Capitol Hill and what kind of priorities the AAPA has
right now.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Yes, absolutely, despite the government shutdown. From the staff level here,
our work has continued aggressively. We just finished up a
very successful conference in Quebec City, Canada, talking about a
wide range of international issues. On Capitol Hill, we lobby
for Port Infrastructure Development Program dollars I raised that at
(05:10):
the top. Because the reauthorization of the Highway Bill, the
Surface Transportation Bill is underway in Congress. We've been having
a lot of meetings with House and Senate members and
Administration of vituals about the importance of the PIDP program
for rebuilding wharves, docks, terminals, railyards, code stores, those sorts
(05:34):
of things. We were pleased that the administration did suggest
five hundred and fifty million dollars for the Infrastructure Development
Program in their budget for FY twenty twenty six. However,
given the current control of government being Republican, we do think,
based on our sources, that a huge mammoth size infrastructure
(05:56):
bill like to byparison Infrastructure of Law, which provided two
point two five billion for ports or five years, is
going to be challenging. But we're doing our advocacy. Nevertheless,
on the surface Transportation bill. Our sources have said that
right now there isn't an appetite for a large term
infrastructure bill, But you don't know what President Trump is
(06:17):
going to do on this topic if he wants to
push forward with another infrastructure bill. Ports are at the table.
We have a lot of other issues, for example, the
water resource development Act is also being considered for reauthorization
in twenty twenty six. In the last SWORDA of twenty
twenty four, ports were very successful whenever we fought for
(06:38):
language to increase the federal cost share for dredging projects,
federal dredging projects down to fifty five feet. That allowed
many of our ports to pursue dredging projects with a
federal cost share that's greater. That of course, gives those
ports the ability to move in larger vest goals, create
(07:00):
greater efficiencies, more goods coming in and coming out. We
also work on security related topics. We've done a lot
of work on protecting the clean Ports grants which are
currently being obligated, and a number of other topics.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Yeah, So, at the time of recording this, the Trump
administration and the Chinese government, I think they've come to
some terms with, you know, cooling down tariffs and also
with regards to delaying the port fees that they're going
to put on each other. The Trump administration has been
pretty vocal about increasing shipbuilding capacity. Is that a good
(07:41):
thing for your members? Is that something that has a benefit,
Because if they're going to increase shipbuilding, I'm assuming they
have to increase the infrastructure related to shipbuilding, which touches ports.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
So can you talk about that. Yeah, thanks, that's a
great question. Our ports do coort shipbuilding at many of
their ports. They have the land and the resources to
do that. We're remaining at the table. However, with that
being said, we do have major concerns about tariffs. We
have concerns about shipbuilding fees. Inherently, we do oppose tariffs.
(08:18):
We believe that any tariffs are going to impact the
bottom line at ports. They will ultimately impact American consumers
and it will impact the costs that Americans are paying
for a wide range of consumer goods. Also, on shipbuilding fees,
we completely support the administration's push back on Chinese dominance.
(08:39):
We understand the reason for pursuing a fee on Chinese
linked ships. However, we don't think that American terminals and
businesses should be penalized. APA has been at the forefront
of American manufacturing. We think before tariffs are proposed, we
need to have the American manufacturing for this type of revitalization.
(09:02):
Right now, no American manufacturer makes shift to short cranes.
These are the big cranes that pick up the containers
and put them onto the dock. They're controlled largely and
manufactured by the Chinese, with some others in Korea and Japan.
We've proposed legislation. Congressman Eizel, who is the chair of
the Coaxcarter Maritime Infrastructure Subcommittee, has introduced this bill to
(09:25):
provide up to a sixty percent tax credit for bringing
back that manufacturer of shipped to short cranes and mobile
harbor cranes. We think that that type of initiative we
to bring back American manufacturing by taking action before we
place unfair penalties and fees on American businesses.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And you know, you mentioned the fact that you know,
you guys are for being bringing back ship building, and
some of the ports that you represent seem open to
I guess hosting those types of companies. I'm assuming those
are mostly smaller ports on the East Coast that would
I guess that expressed an interest. I don't know if
you can talk about that.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Yeah, we've heard at a high level from ports across
the country. Actually, we've heard from some on the East
coasts who are interested in staying engaged and involved and
having visits from potential shipbuilding manufacturers, but also the golf
and the West Coast. We've been discussing this topic internally,
and we have our legislative summit in DC coming up
(10:24):
mark to fourth through six, and we are planning to
have shipbuilding as one of the topics. We've continued to
maintain a close relationship with the White House and the
National Security Council and also the OMB, and we're planning
to invite them to talk to our members about what's
out there. I note that there was twenty five billion
(10:46):
in the Big Beautiful built for coast Guard and for
shipbuilding manufacturing. We want to make sure that we're at
the table and ports are being considered poor infrastructure, and
does weave into there. We think that they need to
go hand in hand as this rebuilding revitalization of American
maritime happens.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Yeah, it's certainly a capital intensive endeavor. It will be
interesting to see, uh, you know, I if that takes
off like I guess the administration hopes it does. Definitely
can see the benefit of building more ships here in
the US. Are there any other legislative issues or concerns
that is really a focus to a PA.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Yeah, we so, as I mentioned the Highway Bill, of course,
and the Water Resource Development Act are critical.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
So can I ask, can I ask a dumb question
about the Highway bill because it has highway in it?
And I guess people don't think about ports when so
port funding is included in the highway bill.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Port funding was included in the last highway bill. Yes,
it was included as a as an appropriation in that
highway bill. That Bypars an infrastructure law right provided to
the two point two five billion for ports. That is
the current legislative vehicle for additional appropriations for ports. That's
(12:09):
a very important point because ports are funded through the
annual appropriations process. They're funded at a very low level,
not enough to sustain the needs of port infrastructure. So
there for example, for FY twenty twenty six, there's four
hundred and fifty million dollars in the by Parson Infrastructure
(12:30):
Law for for the Port Infrastructure Development Program and that
program has has been oversubscribed, but by four to one,
our request for the Port Infrastructure Development Program is ten
point nine billion over five years.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Yeah, that's that's a bit more than four hundred and
fifty million dollars a year. And when you say oversubscribed,
so you're saying that your members there, they've been requesting
I guess four times, So I guess that's one point
eight billion dollars that's for funding.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Okay, that's right. And for every dollar, according to the
Maritime Administration the Department of Transportation, for every dollar invested
in maritime, that stimulates two to three dollars of economic growth,
which is tremendous. So we always emphasize that when we're
talking to lawmakers that investing in infrastructure through our courts,
(13:26):
the return on investment is just tremendous.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Right. I guess let's talk about that return. So where's
that return coming from. Is it just more imports coming
into the US. Is it doing it more efficiently? Is it?
Is it the local economies or is it kind of
all the above.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
It's from state or local or private partners. Reports want
to be the economic engine. They want to collaborate with
federal partners. They also want the state, local, and private
operators to become involved. As these initiatives move forward, rates
as an economic engine. So as that economic engine roars,
(14:04):
whether it's from a new manufacturing facility or a new terminal,
or if there's a channel widening, for example, in Houston
there's a current, there's a channel being widened, and that's
going to allow more jobs, more economic growth, more ships
coming out, and that makes it more attractive to prevent
(14:25):
to potential customers. Or if you look at what's happening
in New Orleans with a new terminal being built that
will generate it served as an economic engine for all
of these good paying maritime jobs and stimulate the economy.
So we we firmly believe that each dollar invested, it's
a very well, well well placed use of your finances
(14:48):
and resources from the federal government.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And so you mentioned like two places where there's growth
going on, can you talk about growth more broadly? And
when I say that, like are the West those US
ports growing more than the East Coast ports? Orre's the
Gulf ports? Like where where's the where's the growth coming from?
Within your world?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Yeah, very important topic right now. There have been ebbs
and flows for the last about year and a half.
Some of that is based on on tariffs and ship
building fees and some turbulence at the in the political side,
but it's more focused on the regional level as different
types of infrastructure projects and cargo loads are managed. So
(15:34):
for for example, if a if a great lakes port
gets US gets a contract for a massive amount of
grain or steel, there's going to be a surge in
economic activity that's going to blow away the national GDP.
Or if they might have a little bit of a
bit of a downturn, they might go a little beneath
on the West coast. There's been a lot of front
(15:55):
loading by retailers to try to avoid some of the
costs of tariffs, and that has increased volumes, but then
it will go up and down. That type of instability
isn't good for any of the businesses. They need to
be able to plan long term. As also an additional
reason why the current government shut down, right, I think
(16:18):
what's thirty days now, almost the longest in government history.
That's certainly not helping. Whether we're talking about the trade
volumes and flows or we're talking about the actual appropriations
legislation which is long overdue. These types of things are
not good for the maritime industry and sustaining and improving
(16:40):
and increasing the long term growth.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
And how do your members grow, So you know, I'm
assuming it's not so much winning share from other modes.
I'm assuming it's attracting new imports and exports. Is that
how your outside of obviously increasing the capacity through these
(17:05):
projects that you talked about, what are your members doing
to kind of to grow their own businesses.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, the capacity side is of course very important. They're
investing in workforce training. They continue to work closely with
their customers. I talked about some of the projects that
they're pursuing, whether it's a water infrastructure project, a raal yard,
better truck connectivity, better equipment. They're constantly fighting for more business.
(17:36):
And while the ports do collaborate across the whole, so
we bring them together from an association perspective, they do
share best practices and collaborate, especially on a regional level.
We have regional port associations set up across the country
and they all have their own uniques and priorities. But
on a competitive level, as you get to understand the
(17:58):
local port dynamics, they do compete fiercely for critical government
business and oftentimes their boards, their commissioning bodies, they also
have a role in that in identifying what can take
them to the next level, and they some of them
visit capital, they talk to legislators. They're always looking for
(18:18):
additional ways to maneuver to get to that next step.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
And are are there some ports that you mentioned that
they do take share from each other and they compete
against each other. So are there some ports that are
growing faster than others if you can talk about that.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Yeah, yeah, some ports aren't growing faster than others. I'd
say it's scattered across the board. We've heard from some
ports who are having some challenges right now. I got
a call from a port director two weeks ago and
they said they were having some layoffs and they in
a very unfortunate circumstance because some of their imports that
were being we're strong previously to tariffs. They've had to
(18:58):
stop those because the manufacturing company has had to raise
prices to the point where the company went out of business.
Whereas other other other ports, for example, I know of
a few in the South, but also scattered across the
company that aren't as focused on container trade, so the
tariffs aren't hitting them as much. Who have more of
(19:19):
an energy profile for example, they seem to be a
little less impacted from the current the current tax and
tariff structure.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Right And you know, obviously you know a way to
get new business is to be more efficient. Uh, you know,
people think of automation. How are your ports addressing, you know,
embracing automation, because I'm assuming you know, they must walk
a fine line between you know, not annoying their workforce
(19:52):
and trying to move forward uh with technology.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
So internationally, of course, if you look at some of
the bigger ports like Shanghai or Rotterdam, they've really moved
forward aggressively with AI and automation. They've proven to be
very successful using automation for cranings, for example. We've seen
that at some of our ports, it's taking place in
(20:16):
targeted circumstances. In all of the successful examples that I've
seen in the US, there have been very close cordial
relationships between the terminal operators and the labor unions on
the contracts to make sure that the working women and
men are being protected and there are no job losses.
That there's a lot of focus on safety being the
(20:38):
first priority. The knee jerk reaction in the past to
automation has been perhaps a concern about jobs or safety.
So I think there's that recognition that before anything moves
forward on automation, and these regional examples the safety and efficiency,
but also the protection of jobs does need to occur.
That On the AI side, been been examples of security
(21:02):
being used, for example by by drones, and there's also
been a focus on cyber security. For example, the Coastguard
has has cyber threat hunt teams and if the port
requests an inspection of something like a like a crane,
that cyber threat hunt team will actually come to the
port and do a thorough investigation and analysis of whether
(21:26):
that specific type of infrastructure is safe or not. So
a lot of movie parts here. Another issue that we
want to be involved in and at the forefront on
as it continues to evolve in the coming days.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
So you just mentioned something, you know when it comes
to enforcement, and it just like, you know, put something
to mind. You know, given the Trump administration is focus on,
you know, reducing fentanoyl imports into the US or were
related chemicals into the US, has the enforcement from customs
been a lot more I guess strict over the last
(22:02):
I don't know how many months, eleven months, twelve months
since the Trump administration has been around compared to the
last four years.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Yeah, great, great question. I haven't heard of any specific
challenges on that front. I do know that right now
CBP are under some pressure because they're dm D central workers,
and I don't believe they're actually getting paid now that
I think they missed their first paycheck. So that's adding
an additional unnecessary layer. As far as the specific question
(22:34):
you ask, I'm not aware of any any major impacts there, so.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Just and then just going back to the automation, So,
what are the types of automation do you think that
are acceptable to labor that will help the ports out,
you know, because you know we've seen you know, you
talked about like the automation of some of some equipment,
but that could be still operated by somebody, you know,
(22:59):
in side somewhere, which obviously is a if you're not
working out the elements, and probably a little safer because
you're not around multi ton containers that could fall and
hurt somebody. So can you talk about like the what
kind of automation do you think that is palatable for
labor versus you know, things that maybe uh, they're they're
(23:21):
they're more resistant to.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Yeah, I can't speak exactly to what would be palatable
to labor, but I can talk a little bit about
what we've seen and what may be something for the
US maritime to consider. I would also highlight Deloitte just
put out a really interesting piece about AI and automation
(23:43):
and how this is something that needs to be considered
as Congress and the government pushes to make American maritime
great again. So if you look at some of the
successful examples in Rotterdam, for example, they're using a lot
of AI and automation for the contain are stacking. So
for example, a truck that's coming in to pick up
(24:05):
a container, it will know exactly where it is, where
it is, and that container will be placed in a
very very strategically so it can pick it up and
remove it without having any weight time. So that's the
type of automation that I think is being considered also
at US ports. But also the you know, weaving into
this is the whole concept of digitization, which is also
(24:28):
an AI component to some extent. You not that long
ago carriers and CBP were using physical bills of laid
and to identify their ship, what it carried, their their number,
the cargo, et cetera. But that, for example, is being
now digitized, where those ocean carriers have have digitization back
(24:50):
and forth between the CVP government and the terminal operator.
That does increase the efficiencies for everyone, and I imagine
that's something that the workforce, for example, could probably benefit from.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Gotcha, you know, I guess it. When it comes to
ports and technology, obviously those are the ports of assuming
are using technology and to reduce their emissions. Can you
can you talk about, you know, what your members kind
of goals are towards admission. You know, you have a
(25:23):
lot of companies that are trying to get to zero
by a certain time. Does the port world have like
a broad goal that they're all trying to get to
and if you can, if you can talk to that,
that would be I think pretty interesting.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely so ports do have very ambitious decarbonization goals.
I wouldn't characterize it as a as a top down
type of federal government regulation, but ports do work with
state local government governments and businesses to set goals for
themselves and they have made a lot of progress. So,
(25:56):
for example, the ports of LA and Long Beach their
world renowned for what they've done to reduce carbon emissions.
But it's not just a California type of initiative. If
you look at the ports in the Gulf. For example,
in the South like Texas, Florida, Georgia, they are adopted
adopting electric equipment like tugboats, cranes, and Texas Ports specifically
(26:23):
see hydrogen as a specific area of growth for zero
missions fuels. We do take in all above strategy as
the association perspective. There are some challenges with moving away
from traditional bunker. A lot of it has to do
with the cost and the cost of the infrastructure to
(26:44):
set up. Sometimes that can be a timely and more expensive.
There also can be political challenges. Sometimes at local levels
there's a bit of hesitation to move to something different,
So that does also play into the entire discussion.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
And has anything changed under the new administration? Obviously they
are not as focused on emissions as prior administration. So
have your ports done anything differently or are they just
operating as they did over the last couple of years
In terms of those goals.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
The overarching administration position, I think that most ports are
very in tune with what their government is desiring. So
if there's more grants available for specific areas of port development,
they may try to follow those types of programs with
that being said, we are seeing a lot of the
(27:44):
ports stick with their decarb goals because it's very important
to them, sometimes at a regional level, but mainly because
they think it's the right path forward. The interesting thing
about ports, from my perspective having been here a little
over two years, is that usually the politics is left
out of it as much as possible, out of their
(28:04):
decision making, and it's not based on it a Republican
or democratic platform. They're going to based on what the
policy and the program is and what's best for their
operating business and how to maintain competitive and keep attracting,
attract new customers and maintaining the current ones.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Is there anything else on your radar that your members
are kind of concerned with that it might, you know,
could be either an opportunity or a challenge for them
that maybe we haven't discussed.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
We are tracking the proposed merger between Union Pacific and
Norfolk Southern. Some of our members have asked questions about it.
We do understand that that merger is in the process,
as in they're working towards their filing their application to
the Surface Transportation Board, which would be the operating governing
(28:52):
body in this case. Understand they're going to submit that
file to for the merger application by January twenty nine,
twenty six, So after that occurs, we anticipate there will
be congressional hearings. There's a lot of lobbying already happening
on the up Norfolk Southern merger. We're hearing from railroads,
but also we're hearing from chemical groups. We're hearing from
(29:14):
any operator of or excuse me, any user of railroads.
We think that's going to be a big topic for discussion.
We want to make sure reports are well represented. We
need to do more work directly with our courts understand
what maybe be good and potentially bad on that merger.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
So when you say you're hearing from your reports, are
most of your members concerned about it? And what are
what are what are the concerns?
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I wouldn't say they're concerned. They hear about it from
one of their customers or from a board member, and
they want to know more about it. Right now, we're
more of the fact finding stage, understanding what the pros
and cons could be. But I haven't heard any imports
at this point, take any firm position one where or other,
and weren't in the research back from the stage at
(30:04):
this point.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Got you and then you know, I guess when we
did the intro you kind of been involved in transports
for some time on the hill. How did you get
into transports? Was it something like you're like, oh, I've
always been interested in that, or it's kind of like
a lot of us that are involved in transportation, you
kind of step in it if you will.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Well, my first job on Capitol Hill was for a
former member of Congress named Bud Schuster, who was the
chair at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Community. He had
family that belonged to the same church as mine in
Central Pennsylvania, and that started off my career in the
transportation world. I worked for Congressman Low Biondo who was
(30:48):
chair of the Maritime sub Community and aviation. That's where
I got my most interest in maritime. So after working
in aviation and at NATKA the Airtraft Controllers, which was
a great experience, I talked to a PA and I've
been here now for two years. I'm really enjoying it.
Excellent organization.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
So, you know, I would like to ask my guests
this last question about books. You know, is there a
book that you've read, whether it's about transportation leadership, or
even the world of politics that you know you touch
as a trade organization that's kind of close to your heart.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Yeah, good question. I am an avid reader. I read
every night. The book that I think of as far
as leadership that's most recent in my memory is actually
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight in the legendary basketball coach,
Because if you look at the way that he started
his business to build Nike from the ground up with
nothing in his basement and going from region to regions
(31:51):
selling stores out of his shoes, his tenacity and persistence
and love for what he did, it was really an
amazing example of how leadership can be done and done successfully.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Well, maybe we should take those principles to heart and
we can. We can start a shipbuilding company here in
the US, go to door to door selling ships. All right, John,
I really want to thank you for your time and
insights today. I really appreciate it, and you know, I
enjoyed learning a little bit more about your organization and
about what you know ports are facing.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Thank you for having me look forward to the continued conversation.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Great, and I want to thank you for your time
for tuning in. If you like the episode, please subscribe
and leave a review. We've lined up a number of
great guests for the podcast, so please check back to
hear conversations with C suite executives, shippers, regulators, and decision
makers within the freight markets. Also, if you want to
learn more about the freight transportation markets, check out our
(32:48):
work on the Bloomberg Terminal at BIG and on social media.
This is Lee Glasgow signing off and thanks for talking
transports with me. Talk to you soon. Bye.
Host
Lee Klaskow
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