II 

Calendar No. 290 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1298 

[Report No. 114–164] 

To provide nationally consistent measures of performance of the Nation’s 

ports, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2015 

Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. GARDNER, and Mr. ALEXANDER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

NOVEMBER 5, 2015 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To provide nationally consistent measures of performance 

of the Nation’s ports, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. PORT PERFORMANCE FREIGHT STATISTICS 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 63 of title 49, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 6314. Port performance freight statistics program 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish, on 

8 behalf of the Secretary, a port performance statistics pro9 gram to provide nationally consistent measures of per10 formance of the Nation’s top 25 ports by tonnage, top 25 

11 ports by 20-foot equivalent unit, and top 25 ports by dry 

12 bulk. 

13 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) PORT CAPACITY AND THROUGHPUT.—Not 

15 later than January 15 of each year, the Director 

16 shall submit an annual report to Congress that in17 cludes statistics on capacity and throughput at these 

18 ports. 

19 ‘‘(2) PORT PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.—The 

20 Director shall require each United States port au21 thority referred to in subsection (a) that receives 

22 Federal assistance or is subject to Federal regula23 tion to submit an annual report to the Bureau of 

24 Transportation Statistics that includes statistics on 

25 capacity and throughput, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the volume of inbound and outbound 

2 cargo to include containers, break bulk, vehi3 cles, and dry and liquid bulk; 

4 ‘‘(B) the average number of lifts per hour 

5 of containers by crane; 

6 ‘‘(C) the average vessel unload rate; 

7 ‘‘(D) the average vessel load rate; 

8 ‘‘(E) the average vessel turn time; 

9 ‘‘(F) port transit time; 

10 ‘‘(G) the average cargo dwell time; 

11 ‘‘(H) the average container dwell time; 

12 ‘‘(I) port storage capacity and utilization; 

13 ‘‘(J) the average wait time for trucks in14 side a port complex; 

15 ‘‘(K) the average truck time at ports; and 

16 ‘‘(L) the average rail delay at ports. 

17 ‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Director shall obtain 

18 recommendations for specifications for port performance 

19 measures, to identify standard data elements for meas20 uring port performance, from— 

21 ‘‘(1) operating administrations of the Depart22 ment of Transportation; 

23 ‘‘(2) the Coast Guard; 

24 ‘‘(3) the Maritime Administration; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the Marine Transportation System Na2 tional Advisory Council; 

3 ‘‘(5) the Army Corps of Engineers; 

4 ‘‘(6) the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development 

5 Corporation; and 

6 ‘‘(7) the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain 

7 Competitiveness. 

8 ‘‘(d) ACCESS TO DATA.—The Director shall ensure 

9 that the statistics compiled under this section are readily 

10 accessible to the public, consistent with applicable security 

11 constraints and confidentiality interests.’’. 

12 (b) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN DISCLOSURES.—Sec13 tion 6307(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amend14 ed by inserting ‘‘or section 6314(b)’’ after ‘‘section 

15 6302(b)(3)(B)’’ each place it appears. 

16 (c) COPIES OF REPORTS.—Section 6307(b)(2)(A) of 

17 title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

18 section 6314(b)’’ after ‘‘section 6302(b)(3)(B)’’. 

19 (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

20 The table of sections for chapter 63 of title 49, United 

21 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

‘‘6314. Port performance freight statistics program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MONTHLY REPORTS ON PERFORMANCE AT UNITED 

2 STATES PORTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year before the 

4 expiration date of a maritime labor agreement for a 

5 United States port, 3 months before the expiration date 

6 of the maritime labor agreement, and monthly thereafter, 

7 the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the 

8 Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor, shall 

9 submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

11 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep12 resentatives that includes port performance indicators at 

13 the affected port. If multiple ports are affected by the ex14 piration of the maritime labor agreement, the Secretary 

15 of Transportation shall submit a report for each affected 

16 port. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report required under sub18 section (a) shall include, for the affected port during the 

19 previous month— 

20 (1) the performance indicators listed under sec21 tion 6314(b)(2) of title 49, United States Code; 

22 (2) the number and type of vessels awaiting 

23 berthing, including average wait time; 

24 (3) the number of cancelled vessel calls; 


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1 (4) an estimate of the economic impact associ2 ated with any delays both at the port and across the 

3 national economy; and 

4 (5) an estimate of the amount of time required 

5 to clear any congestion. 

6 (c) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—The Secretary of Trans7 portation, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce 

8 and the Secretary of Labor, shall submit a report required 

9 under subsection (a) for an affected port until the date 

10 that a new maritime labor agreement for the port is 

11 agreed to by all of the parties to that maritime labor 

12 agreement. 

13 (d) DEFINITION OF MARITIME LABOR AGREE14 MENT.—In this section, the term ‘‘maritime labor agree15 ment’’ has the meaning given such term in section 40102 

16 of title 46, United States Code. 

17 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Port Performance Act’’. 

19 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

20 Congress finds the following: 

21 (1) America’s ports play a critical role in the 

22 Nation’s transportation supply chain network. 

23 (2) Reliable and efficient movement of goods 

24 through the Nation’s ports ensures that American 

25 goods are available to customers throughout the world. 


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1 (3) Breakdowns in the transportation supply 

2 chain network, particularly at the Nation’s ports, can 

3 result in tremendous economic losses for agriculture, 

4 businesses, and retailers that rely on timely ship5 ments. 

6 (4) A clear understanding of port productivity 

7 and throughput would help— 

8 (A) to identify freight bottlenecks; 

9 (B) to indicate performance and trends over 

10 time; and 

11 (C) to inform investment decisions. 

12 SEC. 3. PORT PERFORMANCE FREIGHT STATISTICS PRO13 GRAM. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 63 of title 49, United 

15 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘§ 6314. Port performance freight statistics program 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish, on be18 half of the Secretary, a port performance statistics program 

19 to provide nationally consistent measures of performance 

20 of— 

21 ‘‘(1) the Nation’s top 25 ports by tonnage; 

22 ‘‘(2) the Nation’s top 25 ports by 20-foot equiva23 lent unit; and 

24 ‘‘(3) the Nation’s top 25 ports by dry bulk. 

25 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PORT CAPACITY AND THROUGHPUT.—Not 

2 later than January 15 of each year, the Director shall 

3 submit an annual report to Congress that includes 

4 statistics on capacity and throughput at the ports de5 scribed in subsection (a). 

6 ‘‘(2) PORT PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—The Di7 rector shall collect monthly port performance meas8 ures for each of the United States ports referred to in 

9 subsection (a) that receives Federal assistance or is 

10 subject to Federal regulation to submit an annual re11 port to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics that 

12 includes monthly statistics on capacity and through13 put as applicable to the specific configuration of the 

14 port, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) the total capacity of inbound and out16 bound cargo, including containers, break bulk, 

17 vehicles, and dry and liquid bulk; 

18 ‘‘(B) the total volume of inbound and out19 bound cargo, including containers, break bulk, 

20 vehicles, and dry and liquid bulk; 

21 ‘‘(C) the average number of lifts per hour of 

22 containers by crane; 

23 ‘‘(D) the average vessel turn time by vessel 

24 type; 


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1 ‘‘(E) the average cargo or container dwell 

2 time; 

3 ‘‘(F) port storage capacity and utilization; 

4 ‘‘(G) the average truck time at ports; 

5 ‘‘(H) the average rail time at ports; and 

6 ‘‘(I) any additional metrics, as determined 

7 by the Director after receiving recommendations 

8 from the working group established under sub9 section (c). 

10 ‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall obtain 

12 recommendations for— 

13 ‘‘(A) specifications and data measurements 

14 for the port performance measures listed in sub15 section (b)(2); 

16 ‘‘(B) additionally needed data elements for 

17 measuring port performance; and 

18 ‘‘(C) a process for the Department of Trans19 portation to collect timely and consistent data, 

20 including identifying safeguards to protect pro21 prietary information described in subsection 

22 (b)(2). 

23 ‘‘(2) WORKING GROUP.—Not later than 60 days 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Direc25 tor shall commission a working group composed of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) operating administrations of the De2 partment of Transportation; 

3 ‘‘(B) the Coast Guard; 

4 ‘‘(C) the Federal Maritime Commission; 

5 ‘‘(D) U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 

6 ‘‘(E) the Marine Transportation System 

7 National Advisory Council; 

8 ‘‘(F) the Army Corps of Engineers; 

9 ‘‘(G) the Saint Lawrence Seaway Develop10 ment Corporation; 

11 ‘‘(H) the Advisory Committee on Supply 

12 Chain Competitiveness; 

13 ‘‘(I) 1 representative from the rail industry; 

14 ‘‘(J) 1 representative from the trucking in15 dustry; 

16 ‘‘(K) 1 representative from the port man17 agement industry; 

18 ‘‘(L) 1 representative from the maritime 

19 shipping industry; 

20 ‘‘(M) 1 representative from the maritime 

21 labor industry; 

22 ‘‘(N) representatives of the National Freight 

23 Advisory Committee of the Department; and 

24 ‘‘(O) representatives of the Transportation 

25 Research Board of the National Academies. 


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1 ‘‘(3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the work3 ing group commissioned under this subsection shall 

4 submit its recommendations to the Director. 

5 ‘‘(d) ACCESS TO DATA.—The Director shall ensure that 

6 the statistics compiled under this section are readily acces7 sible to the public, consistent with applicable security con8 straints and confidentiality interests.’’. 

9 (b) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN DISCLOSURES.—Sec10 tion 6307(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

11 by inserting ‘‘or section 6314(b)’’ after ‘‘section 

12 6302(b)(3)(B)’’ each place it appears. 

13 (c) COPIES OF REPORTS.—Section 6307(b)(2)(A) of 

14 title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

15 section 6314(b)’’ after ‘‘section 6302(b)(3)(B)’’. 

16 (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The 

17 table of sections for chapter 63 of title 49, United States 

18 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘6314. Port performance freight statistics program.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. MONTHLY REPORTS ON PERFORMANCE AT UNITED 

20 STATES PORTS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year before the ex22 piration date of a maritime labor agreement that applies 

23 to facilities of a United States port, 3 months before the 

24 expiration date of the maritime labor agreement, and 

25 monthly thereafter until a new agreement is agreed to, the 


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1 Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Sec2 retary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor, shall sub3 mit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

4 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Trans5 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa6 tives that includes port performance indicators at the af7 fected port. If multiple ports are affected by the expiration 

8 of the maritime labor agreement, the Secretary of Transpor9 tation shall submit a report for each affected port. 

10 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report required under sub11 section (a) shall include, for the affected port during the 

12 previous month— 

13 (1) the performance indicators listed under sec14 tion 6314(b)(2) of title 49, United States Code; 

15 (2) the number and type of vessels awaiting 

16 berthing, including average wait time; 

17 (3) the number of cancelled vessel calls; 

18 (4) an estimate of the economic impact associ19 ated with any delays both at the port and across the 

20 national economy; 

21 (5) an estimate of the amount of time required 

22 to clear any congestion; 

23 (6) the average number of positions ordered and 

24 filled; and 


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1 (7) any other factors that might have created 

2 delays, including weather, equipment maintenance or 

3 failures, or infrastructure development or repair. 

4 (c) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—The Secretary of Transpor5 tation, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and 

6 the Secretary of Labor, shall submit a report required under 

7 subsection (a) for an affected port until the date on which 

8 a new maritime labor agreement that applies to the facili9 ties of the port is agreed to by all of the parties to that 

10 maritime labor agreement. 

11 (d) DEFINITION OF MARITIME LABOR AGREEMENT.— 

12 In this section, the term ‘‘maritime labor agreement’’ has 

13 the meaning given such term in section 40102 of title 46, 

14 United States Code. 


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Calendar No. 290 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1298 

[Report No. 114–164] 

A BILL 

To provide nationally consistent measures of perpurposes. formance of the Nation’s ports, and for other 

NOVEMBER 5, 2015 

Reported with an amendment 


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