Kurt J. Nagle, President and CEO, American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)
Biography provided by participant
Kurt Nagle has over 30 years of experience in Washington, DC, related to seaports and international trade. Since 1995, Nagle has served as President and Chief Executive Officer for the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). Nagle began working at AAPA, the alliance of the leading public port authorities throughout the Western Hemisphere, in 1985.
Prior to joining AAPA, Nagle was Director of International Trade for the National Coal Association and Assistant Secretary for the Coal Exporters Association.
Previously, he worked in the Office of International Economic Research at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Nagle serves on the Executive Committee of the Propeller Club of the United States and is a former commissioner of PIANC, the International Navigation Congress.
Nagle holds a Master's Degree in Economics from George Mason University.
Freight-focused transportation projects, while critical to American consumers, our nation’s ability to be competitive in global markets, and our overall economic prosperity, have too often received low priority in state and local transportation plans. The federal government should play the appropriate role in helping enhance the movement of goods by developing a national freight policy to ensure that freight mobility projects are recognized in the transportation planning process. The creation of a national freight program must be a high priority in the next surface transportation authorization. Among the things a national freight program should include are funding for projects and… Read more
There are multiple aspects of the stimulus legislation that are improving transportation infrastructure, the environment and security in and around America's seaports,on both the land- and water-side. These include: funding for the Corps of Engineers to help make a dent in the huge backlog of federal navigation channel maintenance and construction, state highway program funding and the upcoming TIGER grants to improve landside infrastructure and intermodal connectors, grants to help ports reduce diesel emissions, and additional investments to enhance port and maritime security. These investments are not only vital to creating jobs and spurring recovery now, but will help develop the sustainable freight transportation infrastructure the country needs… Read more
Modern, navigable seaports are vital to America's economic recovery. In order to help ensure the country's farmers and non-farm businesses remain competitive in the global marketplace, our nation’s seaports and their connecting infrastructure need higher levels of federal attention and investment to create jobs, alleviate freight congestion, reduce pollution and deliver prosperity. Although seaport authorities and their business partners invest large sums into maritime facilities, investments into waterway navigation and connecting landside infrastructure (such as roads, rails, bridges and tunnels) is generally outside their domain and ability to pay. Ports are finding the weakest link in the logistics chain is often at their… Read more
I believe the answer to "Are we intermodal enough yet?' is similar to what would be a reasonable response to the oft asked "Are we there yet?" refrain from the backseat on the way to Grandma's; we're getting closer, but we still have a ways to go. ISTEA, and the several reauthorization iterations since have made progress, but much needs to be addressed in the upcoming surface transportation bill, particularly in terms of goods movement. Development of a national freight policy is critical, as are dedicated multi-modal freight offices at the federal, state and MPO levels. There should be special attention to and adequate funding for intermodal connectors, the necessary… Read more
Biography provided by participant
