Source:Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 8/5/15


The U.S. Senate has passed a federal highway bill that included language to better manage port operations.

The Port Performance Act would require the federal government to collect port data and report export declines to measure productivity at major U.S. ports and help signal productivity slowdowns resulting from labor disputes.

The legislation came in the wake of the recent nine-month labor dispute that shut down 29 West Coast container ports and cost the meat industry a reported $85 million per week.

Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) introduced the bill.
The House of Representatives will consider the Senate-passed legislation following the August recess.

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