Seeking Shipper Support

Private industry — particularly shippers — needs to jump into the debate over how much the U.S. spends on highways, bridges, airports and other transportation infrastructure.

“The conversation in Washington has been among the people who provide infrastructure, not the people who use it,” said Debra Van Opstal, senior vice president of the Council on Competitiveness.

The council, a nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that includes CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders, sponsored a May 11 conference on U.S. infrastructure and global competitiveness in Washington hosted by the Department of Commerce and Department of Transportation.

“We are about the business case for strengthening America’s transportation infrastructure,” Van Opstal told The Journal of Commerce. “That business case is linked to global competitiveness needs and to the companies that hire workers and who need to ship goods out. That’s why we brought in (executives from) Caterpillar and Cisco (to speak at the conference).”

“We hope to continue working with the DOC and the DOT to make sure the business users are at the table as we move forward.”