The White House has launched a new Office of Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy to oversee maintenance and improvements to the U.S. freight network and supply chains.
The new entity, announced during an inaugural meeting of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, will oversee the development of a National Multimodal Freight Network, review state freight plans, and offer technical assistance to lower levels of government.
It will also play a role in advancing the Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) program that includes five container parts, seven ocean carriers, and four of the five largest retailers by imports. Data from that is being used to inform planning across the supply chain.
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“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,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in a press release.
Introducing President Joe Biden during the meeting on supply chain resilience, Buttigieg highlighted efforts to share data among supply chain participants, and work under the Trucking Action Plan to improve working conditions for truck drivers.
“Council members noted the importance of resilient supply chains to economic, national, and homeland security, and discussed additional ways their agencies will collaborate to advance these priorities, including sharing data to identify supply chain risks and recommendations to address them,” the White House said in a related briefing. “They also affirmed the need for continued support for good working conditions for the workers who keep supply chains running.”
