Figure 2. Major existing port facilities are ob- 

 solete or abandoned. (Port of New York Au- 

 thority photo) 



monetary value of non-Federal contributions to 

 Federally-sponsored harbor and channel projects. 

 While full historical information on non-Federal 

 investment in other terminal and cargo handling 

 facilities beyond that required as part of the 

 project is not complete, figures compUed by the 

 Maritime Administration for the 20-year period 

 1946 to 1965 show additional facility investment 

 within ports totaling at least $2,025 billion (see 

 Table 2). Clearly, port development has required 

 Table 2 

 PORT DEVELOPMENT EXPENDITURE 

 IN THE UNITED STATES 

 Jan. 1, 1946, to Dec. 31, 1965 

 (in thousands of dollars) 



Source: Maritime Administration, 

 substantial financial commitment from both the 

 Federal and non-Federal sectors. 



In summary, while the larger and more essential 

 vessels and streamlined shipping operations fore- 

 cast for the future hold much promise for reducing 

 the cost or improving the quality of transportation 

 services, their realization cannot be automatically 

 anticipated. Responsible exploitation of the super- 

 carriers and container movement potential is 



highly dependent on adequate planning for and 

 installation of basic support facilities. The plan- 

 ning effort promises to be no mean task, especially 

 in light of complicating factors described in the 

 following section. 



II. 



PHYSICAL 

 DEEPENING 



OBSTACLES TO HARBOR 



Continued improvement of the Nation's har- 

 bors and channels and related terminal facilities is 

 an obvious prerequisite to sustained economic 

 growth. At this point in time, however, only one 

 general observation appears valid: physical-cost 

 factors associated with further harbor deepening, 

 coupled with anticipated changes in cargo handling 

 and marketing operations, is going to require that 

 public (including Federal) and private managers 

 choose between possible investment locales and 

 technological alternatives. The choices probably 

 will lead to a pattern of specialization in faciUties, 

 permitting more efficient accommodation of trade 

 demands. 



III. COMMODITY MOVEMENTS 



The investment in harbor and port facilities has 

 stimulated and supported a constantly increasing 

 volume of traffic. The distribution of traffic, by 

 commodity types and regions, and the vessels used 

 in this distribution, will be primary determinants 

 of future investment requirements. This section 

 illustrates basic commodity movement patterns, 

 identifies those most important to various regions, 

 and forecasts vessel technology Ukely to influence 

 future movements and harbor-port needs. 



Total foreign and domestic waterborne com- 

 merce' at all coastal and Great Lakes harbors 

 increased from 522 million tons in 1950* to about 

 800 million tons in 1965. This represents an 

 average annual growth rate of 2.9 per cent. Most 

 of the increase is related to foreign commerce, 

 which grew at an annual rate of 6.7 per cent 

 between 1950 and 1965, while domestic ship- 



Department of Army, Corps of Engineers, Water- 

 borne Commerce of the United States, volumes for 1950 

 through 1965. 



The year 1950 was selected as the base year for two 

 reasons: statistics before that time did not reflect the 

 detailed commodity breakdowns presently used, and 

 therefore are not comparable; and the post-World War II 

 period marked the beginning of construction of the very 

 large oceangoing vessels. 



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