NWRA urges Biden administration to support projects that ease supply chain challenges

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, West Virginia, joined more than 50 other associations in a letter urging U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to invest grant money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in projects aimed at easing supply chain challenges.  

“The waste and recycling industry and the United States Postal Service are the only two entities that travel every road in America at least once a week,” says Darrell Smith, president and CEO of the NWRA. “Investments in these projects will improve safety, help strengthen the American economy and enable the men and women of our industry to do their jobs even more efficiently.”  

The joint letter says for the past two years, the supply chain has endured extreme slowdowns due to pandemic-related pressures. IHS Markit, a data research firm that surveys businesses on their supply delivery times, found that, after a decade of constant or slightly declining delivery times, their index, starting in 2020, has signaled a “substantial and widespread” slowdown of the supply chain. Pandemic-induced record cargo volumes have put pressure on the supply chain leading to abnormally long loading and unloading times at seaports, inland ports and throughout all modes of transportation.  

For example, on-time reliability for the shipping industry hit a historic low in the third quarter of 2021, falling to 34 percent from a recent high above 80 percent.  

“With multimodal traffic patterns returning to prepandemic levels while the supply-chain problems persist, the U.S. Department of Transportation should focus the $18 billion in Infrastructure for Rebuilding America, Mega and Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grant programs put forward over the next five years on making the physical improvements necessary to address these issues,” the letter states.   

The joint letter suggests the Biden administration could invest in projects like making improvements to port infrastructure, addressing freight bottlenecks at major highway interchanges or investing in grade separation projects.  

Other associations urging Buttigieg to invest in infrastructure improvements include the Construction and Demolition Recycling Association, the National Demolition Association and the American Iron & Steel Institute.